EP REVIEW: Strangle With Care – Stormhunter
Strangle With Care is an eye-catching title, so it is no wonder STORMHUNTER used it for their new EP. The German heavy metal band have been around since 1998, and have had a complicated history. They released their first demo tape – First Battle – back in 2001, but in 2002 founding member Stefan Müller left after the band went through several line-up changes. After taking a break, Müller reformed the band in 2007, they released their debut self-titled album in 2009, and their success has only grown from there.
With this latest release Strangle With Care, the band have created a five-track EP that brings German power metal to the masses. Mind Odyssey starts off with a frantic guitar riff that drives the song along. Sometimes the instruments do take centre stage over the vocals, which swallow up the verses, making them a little hard to hear, but thankfully this is not an issue during the chorus. Furthermore, Headbanger’s Ball rectifies the previous song’s issue. Here, the production makes the song sound clearer, and the vocals and instruments get their time to shine. This therefore creates a more evenly focused track.
Unfortunately for STORMHUNTER, Paralyzed lets the EP down a bit. This is due to the fact that the song sounds a little bit too similar to the previous two songs. It’s almost as if the band are going through the motions. Of course, they might just feel very comfortable with the sound they have been working with for over 20 years. On the other hand, it wouldn’t hurt them to spread their wings and change their sound up once in a while.
People might argue that by sticking to their sound, STORMHUNTER are creating an EP that sounds cohesive. However, the band thankfully switch things up a little on Remnants Of Society. It sounds a lot more rock-influenced than power metal. It is a welcome change from the repetitiveness of the previous songs. The vocals in particular are a highlight because they are the main point of focus of the song. What this means is that the instruments are relegated to the background. Of course, this does not mean that the instruments are forgotten about. There is a lovely little guitar solo that is played in the middle of the song.
The fifth and final song, Balles Masquées, is sung in French, which mixes things up a bit. STORMHUNTER give it their all, and the song makes the EP go out with a bang. It has everything: guitar solos, frantic drumming and an almost opera style vocal delivery, and makes for another highlight of the EP.
Ultimately though, Strangle With Care is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag. The first three songs of the EP all sound very similar, as if STORMHUNTER are extremely comfortable in their sound and don’t want to go out of their comfort zone. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with this as it does create consistency throughout the EP, it can also get a bit boring and one dimensional. On the other hand, the band manage to pull it out the bag on the last two songs by experimenting a little with rock influences rather than power metal. Despite the great instruments, the fantastic vocal delivery, and the pacing being great, Strangle With Care is not all it is cracked up to be.
Rating: 5/10
Strangle With Care is set for release on August 26th via G.U.C./Metal-Store24.
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