Band : Conflicted
Album title : Never Be Tamed
Label : Nightmare Records
Distributor : Connecting Music
Release Date : 29/04/2011
Release : CD

Conflicted is a new quintet hailing from Toronto – Canada.  This is their first ever release.  And what taste do they present ?  Well I find this to be a mix of progressive metal with heavy metal. 
The into might as well be left out.  It doesn’t add to the album.  But then we come to the second track.  Nothing special you’d say, that is until you first hear Jason Orton open his throat.  He reminds me of Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, or Rob Halford.  Ant then comes track 3, ‘Victor(ia)’. This leans more towards progressive metal, and has a sensational keyboard part in it, accompanied or alternated by some serious guitar work.
As a matter of fact the style of the whole album is very diverse, it’s not easy to really categorize them into one category.  Which might explain why it took me a few spins to really get into this album, but then, after a few times, I started liking it more and more.

Although they actually have only one guitarist, Marc Owen, who has a neo-classical foundation, he sounds as if there were two guitarists into one and the same person, at times sounding like Yngwie Malmsteen, at other times like Michael Romeo. Don’t forget to look for the clip on You Tube that’s made with Lego figures.  It’s quite original.

80/100

Erik Morren.