ALBUM REVIEW: The Search – Armory

Following the release of their debut full length album World Peace…Cosmic War, Swedish speed metallers ARMORY have been busy in the recording studio and are to release their second record, The Search.The new album follows on directly from the end of World Peace…Cosmic War, as the band continue to rise from the ashes of RESURRECTOR.

The Search kicks off with the title track, with the intro beginning relatively slowly to build the atmosphere, though it doesn’t take long before the riffs come into play to add to the tempo, followed by the drums as the pace shifts into another gear. The vocals begin, loud and aggressive to add to the essence of speed metal, all of which helps to create a solid opening track.

The following song, Hyperion, begins in a much quicker fashion, again a solo riff from the guitars beginning things. In fact throughout most of the track the riffs take much of the attention, with guitarists Gustav Sundin and Niclas Ingelman combining a number of complicated riffs and throwing them all together which works well, and there’s no doubt that this one is a headbanger. The recipe from the opening two tracks doesn’t really change all that much throughout the rest of the record, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it shows ARMORY have formed their own identity and sound, and want to remain consistent in their records.

There are only two tracks which differ from the rest of the album; Star Voyage, which is a 56 second instrumental which flows into Vault Seven, and Heavy Metal Impact. This second aforementioned track features a much slower and more gentile introduction compared to some of the others which appear on the record, and the pace gradually builds up as the song progresses. It has echoes of a classic metal record, but it’s all a false sense of security and it doesn’t take too long before the tempo picks back up.

Aside from those differences, the rest of The Search is pretty much in the same vein throughout. There’s no doubt that this is fast, hard, aggressive speed metal, so you get what you pay for and know what to expect before even listening to the first track – ARMORY have not tried to be too experimental halfway through the record and done something completely different, again marking their consistency and overall sound.

It also has much more of a raw sound to it which is another plus point, there are some albums out there in the same genre that have been edited and over-produced so much that it doesn’t sound as good as it can be. That’s not the case here, and it adds to the authenticity of the vintage speed metal sound. The only major downside of The Search however is that the record is too generic; there are plenty of bands who have been doing the same thing for years on end, and it doesn’t quite grab your immediate attention as other records. The tracks are good and it’s well put together, but it could well be one of those records that slips through the cracks.

Rating: 7/10

The Search is out now via High Roller Records. 

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