Band : Battlecross
Album title : Pursuit of Honor
Label : Metal Blade Records
Distributor : Rough Trade Benelux.
Release date : 01/08/2011
Release : CD

American metal. Haven't we seen and heard enough of that? Isn't it all a bit the same. Some guys who are desperately trying to achieve fame by creating heavy metal in a modern jacket? Well, fortunately, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as Battlecross, a heavy metal band from Detroit. With Pursuit of Honor, they have created a good album, but a hard one to listen to in one turn. It took me quite some time before I had this album all figured out. The reason for this might be quite obvious. Having a look at the cover, you might expect a bone hard heavy metal record, but what we get is a metal band with a clearly present power metal twist. Another surprise emerges in the vocals: deep screams. I find this a weird combination. Maybe it's something you need to get used to. I can firmly say, the second time that I listened to Pursuit of Honor, it was still quite hard to listen to, but worth the band's effort. At least we have a band that gives it a try to be innovative.
Something that's much more dominating in the eleven heavy metal songs are the outstanding thrash implements which make the music sound that more aggressive.
With Pursuit of Honor, Battlecross have created a decent heavy metal album. The songs lack some kind of variation, but it's still very well mastered

79/100

Tim