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So here it was , the year was 1983...and once again I went to my local record
shop in the mall to purchase some metal for my sweet tooth that has been acting
up all week. As I was scouring for anything obscure and caught my eye...I came
upon this EP ,with a amatuarish sketch of a royal crest on it. It wasn't the
greatest artwork..but still caught my eye. Once I got this album home and played
it on the ole turntable , I soon found out that this was not a waste of money.
Of course we metalheads were familiar from the products countries like England ,
Germany , Scandinavia and it's fellow neighbors have gave us recently....but I
never heard of a group from Belgium partaking in this hellish genre
before...until I found Ostrogoth. From the first track , 'Full Moon's Eyes' ,
also the title track of this collectable EP , I instantly became a fan. The
beginning of this piece sounds as if a horse and buggy should be trodding down
the streets of Belgium , but then gradually...it ascends into a hellish foxtrot.
Marc De Brauwer's macho-like but high energy vocals gives this EP a very nice
touch indeed. The next track , 'Heroes Museum' , shows a little more complexity
in a slight Maidenish form but still holding that ale drinking element as that
of the title track.
The third piece is a personal fave of mine...'Paris By Night'. This plodding
but very tasty tunage has plenty of hooks along with it. From the doom laden
verse to the semi harmoniuos chorus....and then to a wicked middle part...sped
up very noticebly with a follow the leader axe solo , and then back to it's
black abyssmal rhythm part once more.
For the closer , 'Rock Fever' is an excellent to this small little masterpiece
of old school style metal. A full blown balls to the wall piece , laced with a
just plain fun attitude...adding to this homage of Rock and Roll in itself.
To summarize: if your taste is into old school power metal , this is an album
for you. The production isn't half bad..pretty crisp actually. And the style is
one of old Judas Priest and Iron Maiden , but I assure you , there is no ripping
off from those two bands at all. This EP to me is a keeper , and one of the lost
pieces of gold in an endless pile of overrated and/or just plain garbage that is
out there now.