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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

Voodoo Terror Tribe

Stands to Reason

Review by Gary Hill

This EP presents an intriguing sound. It seems to land somewhere in the territory bordered by gothic rock, heavy metal and aggressive newer hard rocking sounds. Perhaps the biggest shocker here is a cool cover of a Journey song. These guys are quite entertaining and cool, and their sound is pretty original. I’d love to hear more from this outfit.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Masquerade

Keyboards start this and hold it for a short time. Then some killer crunchy guitars are added to the mix. This becomes a smoking hot gothic metal tune that’s both accessible and meaty. Comparisons to Marilyn Manson wouldn’t be completely out of the question, but there’s a lot more in this musical mix than just that. Rob Zombie wouldn’t be out of the list of references either. While most of the vocals are melodic, there are some extreme metal ones, too.

Stands to Reason
The keyboards that start this tune are quite pretty and a little sad in texture. It grows out from there as a power ballad with definite goth rock tendencies. While this cut is a bit generic, it’s also very powerful. It alternates between mellower sections and harder rocking. That’s pretty standard in terms of the musical concept, but this is exceptionally classy and strong. The guitar solo on this tune is certainly worth mentioning. It’s crunchy and yet melodic. It’s also very cool.
Twenty 12
They pass on the keyboards for the opening this time around. Instead we get a raw and extremely heavy cut that’s perhaps like a heavier Godsmack with some Rob Zombie thrown into the mix. That only comes so close, though. There are keyboards at points in the tune, serving as bits of sound over the top of the aggressive metal arrangement. This thing is pretty awesome, and a great shift from the first two tunes.
Separate Ways
I never would imagine these guys covering Journey, but that’s exactly what they do with this song. While the melody and progression remain unchanged, they bring this into a real metal approach. I have to say that the chorus on this cut is strong, even though Journey’s version tends towards insipid. I wouldn’t say that this is up to the same level as the cuts that preceded it, but it’s an intriguing and unusual direction for these guys to go.
Never Died Before
The intro to this, with its bit of processed vocal joined to keyboards, feels almost like Kraftwerk. They pound out into some more aggressive, but rather mid-tempoed gothic metal from there. This one has keyboards laced in the mix as icing on the cake, but is really raw and extreme. There’s a drop down mid-track to keyboard based gothic music, but they bring out with even more brutal power from there. There’s a soundbite of a movie in another language, I think it’s German, at the end of the cut.
 
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