Band: Bible Of The Devil
Title: Freedom Metal
Label: Cruz Del Sur Music
Distribution: Sonic Rendezvous
Release date: December 2008
Review: CD

Next year, this Chicago outfit will celebrate its tenth anniversary, but it’s time to party already! Freedom Metal, the fifth full length studio album, has been created to terrorise your neck muscles. The compositions may be better-thought than before, yet still the whole sounds the same. If that’s positive or negative, that’s up to you. This quintet exhales ‘old school’ and ‘Metal’ at the same time, and both the European and American old school Metal scenes are of influence. The melodic tracks are pretty varying, the speed differs from slow over mid- to up-tempo, the musical elements come from Heavy Metal, Thrash, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Stoner, Southern and Doom, and the sound is perfect: full yet rough (Semaphore Studio with Sanford Parker from Minsk / Buried At Sea / Mastodon-fame; also worked with e.g. Nachtmystium, Lair Of The Minotaur, Pelican, The Gates Of Slumber, Unearthly Trance amongst others). The individual members are very skilled, that’s for sure, yet especially vocalist Mark Hoffmann needs being mentioned with his fabulous wide vocal range. Every song is rhythmic, energetic and convincing, yet I’m afraid the second part of the album is too predictable and maybe too accessible. Anyway, this catchy album is recommended to fans of, let’s say, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motörhead, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Kyuss, Black Sabbath and even (!) Queens Of The Stone Age.

71/100

Ivan Tibos.