Sacred Steel

Metal, metal, metal. Vocalist is dubbed "Sirens of Metal", they're from Germany. Guitar's are too low in the mix. So far, the oracle reads pain and suffering at the hands of average German retro-metal. This is rather unfortunate, for the newest craze is retro-thrash (Nocturnal Rites, Bewitched and Primal Fear, to name a few), and this sub-genre could easily afford more strong contenders. Well, the road to crap music is paved with good intentions, and Sacred Steel can't really provide anything save a few memorable riffs (see the chorus of the title track). The guitars are just buried though, which leaves just waaay too much room for "Sirens of Metal" Gerrit P. Mutz to stretch his fingernail-on-blackboard vocals over each track. This may be the biggest detractor for me, as there are some pretty sweet riffs here, and the drumming is more than adequate. But, man, these vocals drive me nuts! Especially sufferable on the "ballad" Sword of the King. Enough already, for I'm sure you get the point. Not a strong recommendation from me, but if you can get past the vocals, you may just find something of interest to share at your next holiday dinner.
5 out of 10