The Metal-Rules.com “Stand Up and Be Counted” Review!

 

Ok. Metal-Rules.com is not just any Metal website. They have been around for quite some time. So to have our debut EP reviewed by them and with such nice things written about it, the honor is overwhelming…

 

This month we get some more new, underground Metal from Athens in the form of Obscurus Rex. This new quartet have independently released their debut EP.

At four tracks and 26-minutes total run-time this is just a taste and teaser of what the band has to offer. Vocalist Manos X (also of Ocean’s Edge and a number of other bands) is a vocalist in high demand, partly due to his chameleon-like vocal talent. On this release he channels a bit of his inner Bruce Dickinson to very great impact and effect.

Panos (bass) wrote most of the music and he writes an excellent traditional Metal song. He also wrote the lyrics which seems pointed and angry; tales of love, betrayal and revenge. The album cover art also speaks to that theme as well, a little bit. Dimitri Sakkis is a journeyman on drums, known in the underground for his involvement in many bands, most of the on the more extreme side of Metal. A good drummer is hard to find and I like his pace on the cut ‘4Justice’. Guitarist Kimonis Alex delivers a really nice solo on the cut ‘Your Enemy Tonight’ but I understand he might already be out of the band.

Overall, the songs are an average length, traditional/classic Metal thankfully avoiding any unwelcome modern tendencies. This could have come out in the 80’s quite comfortably. Maybe this is what these veterans wanted to do with Obscurus Rex, get back to their roots a little bit.

Good song-writing and good individual performances anchor this album, which is not all that original, but that never bothers me. I like what I hear from this first effort. Perhaps I’d like to hear a bit more speed. The final track’ Red’ at almost nine-minutes drags a little. It has some nice tempo changes but I’d almost rather see them end on a fast high note and race to the finish line or maybe sequence that song in the middle of the EP.

STAND AND BE COUNTED is a very good first effort and I think the band has loads of potential. Obscurus Rex is well worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of discovering new, underground bands.

 

The EP is now available in Digital & CD form on Bandcamp!