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SPEED QUEEN “With A Bang!”
SPEED QUEEN “With A Bang!”
By Dr. Abner Mality
No, this is not a washing machine...it’s a speed metal band from Belgium. Call me nuts, but there seems to be a big influx of bands trying to play early 80’s speed metal lately. These guys are the latest and I’m sure they’re inspired by their countrymen of long ago, ACID!
Nothing avant-garde or unexpected here….”With A Bang!” is 10 tracks of NWOBHM style metal with the speed factor kicked up. This band is at their best when they are at their fastest...”Showdown”, “I Want It” and “Fire” being excellent examples of the speed metal art. Other ancient Benelux bands like WARHEAD and CROSSFIRE come to mind when you hear these hard and heavy licks. One characteristic many bands from this area have is...their singers aren’t that great. The guy for SPEED QUEEN is far from the worst, but his voice is pretty average. He does possess a lot of enthusiasm and that surely helps.
When SPEED QUEEN slows things up, they lose the immediacy of those fast blazers mentioned above. “Eye For An Eye” isn’t too bad and it’s still pretty quick, but the much moodier “I Walk Alone” and more melodic “Chasing Ghosts” drop into the average category. Not bad, but nothing you’re going to remember, either. Well, many of the classic speed metal bands would try for more anthemic or commercial songs...with mixed results. So it is here.
On the balance, “With A Bang!” is a pretty good straight metal record that will bring a warm glow of nostalgia to those who recall when these kind of bands were king!
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