CRYING STEEL – Time Stands Steel (2013)
*
CRYING STEEL born in Italy thirty one years ago influenced by the British metal scene at the beginning of the eighties. After several demos and an EP the band managed to release its debut album in 1987, they broke-up in the nineties till 2003 when they took shape again and a comeback album was out in 2007.
Then was time for a slight change in the musical direction: new guitarist in the skilled Massimiliano Magagni and powerful young singer Stefano Palmonari provided to Crying Steel a more modern, punchy hard rock edge still retaining their classic ’80s metal sound.
The result is Crying Steel’s third full-length album “Time Stands Steel”, just released by Perris Records in the US.
Crying Steel present style may have an ’80s metal approach, but their sound is very melodic, dynamic & fresh as well. They’re not trying to sound retro at any point and that’s a good thing.
All the songs in “Time Stands Steel” are driven by a pounding rhythm section (sometimes galloping), heavy riffs & high pitched vocals. Stefano Palmonari is a powerhouse-like singer with a bit of accent, but at the end this benefits the overall delivery adding an unmistakable Euro touch to the proceedings.
This band is an eighties metal child and this is clearly reflected into their music, but you know, what used to be ‘heavy’ back in the day, now is simply tagged as hard ‘n heavy.
So there’s no place for ballads in “Time Stands Steel”. However, the disc features some really melodic numbers with an updated production akin early Pretty Maids, Running Wild or Tokyo Blade.
Effective rockin’ cuts such as “Starline”, “Beverly Kills”, the groovy “Heavens Of Rock”, “Lookin’ At” and the very catchy “Shut Down” (my favorite) surely will made your head bang on and your feet tap.
There’s more speedy tracks like the urgent opener “Defender” (very British), the monster rhythm-guitar sharpness of “Riding” and the double-bass drum fueled “Black Eve”.
For eighties hard ‘n heavy rabid fans, “Time Stands Steel” is the real deal.
Crying Steel owns the spirit, the denim ‘n’ leather blood, as they are from that era and they didn’t needed to learn the lesson in this style, they lived it. As unit the group sounds tight, massive, and the songs flow naturally, wrapped by an updated production still respecting the canon of this – when well executed – lovable genre.
And this is the case with “Time Stands Steel”, a really well crafted, highly enjoyable punchy rocking disc.
Recommended.
01 – Defender
02 – Shut Down
03 – Lookin’ At
04 – Rockin’ Train
05 – Heavens Of Rock
06 – Crying Steel
07 – Metal Way
08 – Starline
09 – Riding
10 – No Slip
11 – Black Eve
12 – Beverly Kills
Stefano Palmonari – Vox
Max Magagni – Guitar
Franco Nipoti – Guitar
Angelo Franchini – Bass
Luca Ferri – Drums
BUY IT !
www.nehrecords.com/SHOP/CryingTime.htm
.
