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Horror Paradise
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Horror Paradise |
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| Black Phantom are a heavy metal band from Italy formed in 2014 by bass player Andrea Tito (Mesmerize), releasing the bands debut album 'Better Beware!' in 2017. Sophomore album 'Zero Hour Is Now' followed in 2020, with third album 'Horror Paradise' emerging in 2024... | ||||||
| ...featuring drummer Ivan Carsenzuola, guitarist Roberto Manfrinato, singer Manuel Malini, and (new) guitarist Toni Cacciapaglia (Forged In Blood) alongside founder Tito - 'Horror Paradise' a ten song, forty eight minute barrage of hard hitting and highly head bang-able heavy metal! The opening song 'Sammy The Elf', appears in the 2022 movie "He Knows" - Black Phantom contributing music to a number of recent horror movie releases, paving the way for the inspiration behind the bands new album - the band immediately into their stride, galloping hard to deliver a thunderous opener to turn the head of every single metalhead in the direction of Milan! | ||||||
| With attentions grabbed tightly, 'Horror Paradise' marches on with the heavier, and faster paced 'Come Hike With Me', Black Phantom planting one foot firmly on the monitor to adopt the iconic pose of heavy metal. The Italian five-piece may hail from the power metal hotbed that is Europe, yet their sound is more akin to traditional metal, harking back to the glorious eighties when heavy metal was still in its infancy and legendary bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon were writing the rule book! A book that Black Phantom have read from cover to cover, the band bringing an anthemic feel to the fore with the thundering 'War Of Tanks'. Pounding the ground hard with immense force, 'War Of Tanks' exhibits a little menace too, 'Horror Paradise' beginning to fill the air with a slight chill and tonnes of fear! Picking up the pace, 'The Headsman' roars off down the autostrada at full throttle, the heads of every mosher in the world rocking back and forth more vigorously than ever - the first foursome of the bands new album creating a direct route to head banging heaven! | ||||||
| And head banging heaven is where you'll remain as the album moves stealthily on with the menacing 'A Nightmare'. Oozing more groove than any other song heard so far, 'A Nightmare' foot stomps heavily, changing gears and tempo as it rips the airways to shreds with enough menace to send quite a few listeners diving for the relative safety of behind the sofa! I'm telling ya, that main riff rumbles like distant thunder - getting more intense the closer and louder it gets! And now the band bring to the surface the exquisite sound of European power metal courtesy of 'I Got The Callback' - powering forth with blistering guitars and one helluva infectious nature. The incredible switch from traditional to power metal was seamless, Black Phantom flexing their metal muscles to please a very wide audience - an audience that are gonna lap up 'Horror Paradise'. And with a scarier feel than heard anywhere else up to this point, 'Listen To The Voice' is gonna send shivers down the spine of every listener, the band echoing the scary nature of many Alice Cooper songs - the king of shock horror famed for his eerie, tension filled shows. And that's exactly the same kinda atmosphere pouring outta 'Listen To The Voice' - so listen at your peril! You have been warned! | ||||||
| 'Beast On The Loose' opens with an almighty foot stomping crescendo, Black Phantom showing a clean pair of heels after just twenty or seconds to sprint off into the distance. The (new) fastest song heard so far, 'Beast On The Loose' is also the most melodious, providing listeners, fans, followers and concert goers with a sing a long-able chorus straight outta the top drawer! Sheer brilliance from a band firing on all cylinders, hitting hard and kicking harder with a tonne of gusto, 'Horror Paradise' striding on with the mean and moody 'The Armour Of God'. A nod in the direction of Black Sabbath's doom laden heaviness, 'The Armour Of God' maintains the phenomenal level of menace radiating from the album since it began. And from the beginning to the end, the album ends with the longest song on offer, 'J For Jenny' clocking in at over six minutes in length. And what a song - Black Phantom delivering every style of metal they have in their arsenal to close out an intense album of pounding and pulsating heavy come traditional come (a little) power metal. | ||||||
| Overall, an infectious and thunderous array of tension fuelled heavy metal featuring high levels of menace and head bang ability. | ||||||
| Review by Iron Mathew Collins | ||||||
| Reviewed for Black Phantom | ||||||
| Review is also featured at Metal-Roos | ||||||
| Other Reviews | ||||||
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| Zero Hour Is Now | ||||||
| "an intense and heavy hitting fusion of classic heavy metal with the oomph of power metal, 'Zero Hour Is Now' is a full on and in your face album" Read Review | ||||||
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