Cruz Del Sur

Line up :

Philip Swanson – Vocals

Simon Tuozzoli – Bass, Guitar, Organ, Additional Voice

Michael Petrucci - Drums

Final Spell is the debut ep by the Salt Lake City, US band Visigoth who have been around since 2010. Nostalgic metal fans will like their mix of teutonic bombastic and US melodic power speed metal as it is also performed by Helloween, Twisted Tower Dire, Omen and Grim Reaper. Clear vocal lines, huge chorusses, an impressive rhythm section and lots of fast guitar solos are harmonizing perfectly.

Unlike most of the metal albums I've listened to, this album seems to be a little more ambitious. There are few poor parts on the album and while I could find fault with most of the songs, they do seem to be able to stand on their own. The CD clocks in at just over 40 minutes, and every track is between 4-7 minutes long. This allows the band to expand on their ideas a liitle bit for each track. My favorite so far is “Tiphareth” which has impressive guitar work, and is just a well-crafted song.

For those who are new to the band, Pagan Altar is one of the best heavy metal/NWOBHM acts to date. The group was formed back in 1980 and quickly reached a cult-status for the fans of the genre. This is a re-release of their 2006 album and it is a solid proof of their underrated genius. Pagan Altar are a metal band I'm always looking forward too to listen to. There are only a few bands playing metal at such an original level as they do. Their music is very difficult to describe, anyway, there's not a second band sounding similar to them.