EP REVIEW: Shooting Star – Acid Blade

ACID BLADE move quickly. The Dresden-based five-piece only have a few years under their collective belts, but they’ve already got one full-length album out (last year’s Power Drive) and have managed to put this short follow-up together in record time. Shooting Star is only four songs, but they’ve not been resting on their laurels and were clearly keen to capitalise on their early momentum. These lads gallop onwards as much as their guitar riffs do. Given how quickly they’ve put this together, they’ll likely have five more albums to their name before the decade’s out.

Proudly old school and waving the flag for tradition, Shooting Star is not a complicated record. It’s classic heavy metal that sounds like it could have been released before Kill ‘Em All was even a glint in Lars Ulrich’s eye. It consists entirely of bass, guitar, drums and vocals; there are no synthesisers or turntables or even the vaguest hint of modern metal. Avoid their Metal Archives biography and you could easily mistake this for a lost recording from 1980 that had just been unearthed by historians.

And it’s okay. It’s got its fair share of catchy melodies and their love of metal days past is genuine and affecting, but it’s never more than average. ACID BLADE know their genre and adhere to it so closely that we can’t tell if the ramshackle production is intentional or if they just didn’t have a big recording budget. The opening title track is a fun blast with a memorable chorus and the occult-tinged Rise From The Grave is a spirited enough finale, but they’re not exceptional. ACID BLADE know how to make authentic trad metal, but they haven’t managed to make it enticing to anyone who doesn’t already have DIO’s entire discography seared into their subconscious.

They are still in their formative years and there’s nothing wrong or grotesquely offensive about ACID BLADE, so genre aficionados may want to get in on the ground floor. This retro approach has been making a comeback of late and if they keep at it, ACID BLADE may well evolve into flagbearers. The third track – Weeping Willow – in particular, hints at a broader appeal and if they continue to perfect those choruses, who knows where they could end up? At present though, ACID BLADE come across like a band still finding their feet. They’re an earnest, likable bunch but there’s nothing that makes them stand out yet.

Rating: 5/10

Shooting Star is set for release on October 13th via Jawbreaker Records.

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