I was worried
4
By SPIKE....
Not gonna lie, I’ve been underwhelmed by the last couple of albums. Then I heard “Temple of Ekur,” and I was blown away by the heavy, Metallica inspired crunch. However, when song 2, “Wait a Minute My Girl” started, I got worried again! When the horn kicked in, my heart sank even further. The chorus was catchy, but I hated the pop sound, and more importantly, the horns. Then something magical happened…….”The Sacred Stones” started. Once again, I was back to being blown away by the chugging, heavy rhythm riffs, and some catchy, melodic leads. Songs like “Shotgun Blues,” “Say No More,” “Becoming,” “The Passenger,” and “Mind Lock” are all excellent songs that take us back to the heavier days. Overall, this album is a good mix of their career. It’s diverse enough to please everyone in some way. There are a few duds on the album like “Domino,” which I hated, and “Return to None” which is heavy, but it doesn’t really go anywhere, which is frustrating since it had some great riffs. However, that is more a matter of subjective, personal taste. “Dagon For” sounds like it was manufactured strictly for radio, but I really enjoyed the melodic leads. Either way, I’m glad to have them back making some (mostly) heavy, yet catchy music again.