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Join date : 2014-02-25
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 | |  Armageddon Rev 16:16 - Sundown On Humanity (2014) Album Review | |
Armageddon Rev 16:16 - Sundown On Humanity (2014)
Pitch Black Records -- Running Time 57:19
Score
6.5/10
Don't worry if you've never heard of, the unusually named, Armageddon Rev 16:16 before as I hadn't either before this album was sent to me to review but apparently, even though this is only their debut, they have been treading the boards as a band since 1984 and have kept themselves going, and gaining an underground following, due to playing plenty of live gigs as well as releasing demos and the odd EP in their native Cyprus. Quite why it has taken them this long to get a full album out I cannot explain but judging by the guests that turn up on this there is obviously a lot of love and respect for them out there and while 'Sundown On Humanity' won't win any awards for album of the year or originality it's still a fairly decent slab of balls to the wall Heavy Metal!
What I can tell you is that the love of metal in Greece and Cyprus has always been strong and there are some great bands emerging from that region in recent years. Take a good dose of traditional metal such as Priest & Accept and mix it up with Primal Fear, Gamma Ray and Firewind and that's the path that Armageddon Rev 16:16 are taking. On this recording original members Jimmy Mavrommatis (vocals), Kikis A. Apostolou (lead guitar) and Elias A. Andreou (rhythm guitars) joined forces with Nikolas Papaeftychiou (bass) and Kerry Elgar (drums), although Apostolou and Elgar have recently been replaced by Stefanos Yiassemidis and Evangelos Varnava respectively! There is a further Firewind connection as Bob Katsionis not only guests on keyboards and guitar but has also mixed and mastered the album. There are also guest vocal slots for Nicholas Leptos (Arrayan Path, Warlord), Tasos Karonias (R.U.S.T.) & 'Andreas Paraschos (Blynd), although frustratingly I don't know what person appears on which tracks!
Song wise the album gets off to a strong start with 'Shades Of Tomorrow' in particular being a great song ('Why' also stands out). There are riffs aplenty, some quite impressive vocals and solos and more than enough double bass drumming to keep you fairly happy and everything is played to a high standard. On the other hand Armageddon Rev 16:16 don't often hit fourth gear, with many of their songs being mid tempo affairs. Now, I'm all for a bit of medium paced chug, but in an album nearing sixty minutes things do get a bit samey, especially as there is definitely some filler here plus some of the vocals are a little too squeaky. That brings me to my other concern! If a band has been going thirty years and their only album has filler material, what does that say about song writing ability? They really should have an album filled to the brim with killers, but they haven't and unfortunately it all gets a bit repetitive!
'Sundown On Humanity' is still a good listen but it's three songs too long and the band need to vary the pace more to keep the listener interested. Hopefully it won't be another thirty years before album number two arrives but they'll have to address certain issues if an impact is to be made in other parts of the world!
https://www.facebook.com/Armageddonmetalcy
http://www.pitchblackrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pitchblackrecords
Review written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley
www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351
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