ANTIOCH VI
ANTIOCH VI "Molten Rainbow"
By Dr. Abner Mality
First off, it's never exactly clear if the name of this band is ANTIOCH or ANTIOCH VI. I'll go with the latter because it's on the cover. With that out of the way, this is a Canadian band trying their hand at traditional metal in the vein of PRIEST, METAL CHURCH, VICIOUS RUMORS and such like. They give it their best shot but the result is rather uneven.
Their heart is in the right place and one thing this record has is the proper energy...you can tell these guys leaned into it with vigor. The song writing is all over the place but the biggest issue ANTIOCH VI has is...THAT VOICE! Singer Nicholas Allaire uses a wide variety of vocal styles here, but standing out above them all is that incredible grinding shriek...like METAL CHURCH's David Wayne on a full canister of helium or Gonzo from the Muppets being stabbed. You hear that mind-bending shriek right away on first track "Defiler" and I...just...cannot...cope. It's not even technically "bad", it's just...too much. And I don't think most fans are going to be able to latch on to it. On "Dodeskaden", it overwhelms every other aspect of the song.
Allaire's other vocal styles are more successful, including clean singing in both high and low register. On the very METAL CHURCH sounding semi-ballad "Imps In the Coal", he comes across the best. That song is one of the more successful here. The thumping PRIEST-like "Lucifer In Chains" and racing "Iron And Rust" are not bad, but the songwriting of ANTIOCH VI is not quite up to top level yet. The melodic "Hold My Heart" comes across sappy and repetitive, .the title track and "Temple of Black Fire" are just kind of "trad metal 101".
I wanted to like "Molten Rainbow" more than I did and the album is not a throwaway by any means, but ANTIOCH VI has got a ways to go...