Year : 1991 (Pure Steel Records Edition 2019)
Style : Heavy Metal , Power Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 108 mb
Bio:
Integrity and authenticity — two key components required to ensure a band's initial acceptance and ultimate long-term survival on the highly-competitive global metal music scene. Inspired by the hard-hitting, riff-heavy, no nonsense blueprint engineered by the master architects of the classic European NWOBHM movement, American metal stalwarts, Attika, have claimed both components — integrity and authenticity since day one.First launched from Florida's Space Coast in 1983, co-founding frontman Rob Van War and drummer Jeff Patelski led the brash four-piece brigade to numerous accolades throughout the aerosol-sprayed '80s. The band's abrasive self-produced, self-titled 1988 debut record received a jaw-dropping "5-K" rating from Europe's foremost metal publication, Kerrang! In 1989, they were named "Best Metal Band" by Florida's prestigious JAM! magazine. Their acclaimed sophomore slab, When Heroes Fall was released internationally by Massacre Records in 1992.By the late '90s, Attika had splintered, with Van War pursuing new creative ventures. However, the band would be revived in the 2000s when their debut set was reissued by CMC records in 2004. More recently, a deluxe CD / vinyl edition of When Heroes Fall was released by the European metal label, Pure Steel Records in 2019.Along with perennial members; bassist Glenn Anthony and guitarist Bill Krajewski, Van War and Patelski continue to enjoy international notoriety — performing numerous concert dates in the U.S. and abroad. The band's 2018 appearance at the celebrated "Up the Hammers" festival in Greece was a particular career highlight.Entitled Metal Lands, the latest Attika offering already is being hailed by industry insiders as an unapologetic tour de force. The highly-anticipated ten-track collection is scheduled to drop worldwide via Pure Steel in early 2021.
Album:
ATTIKA is a name that’s been out of circulation for a while. A metal band from Ohio, contemporaries of RITUAL (also on the same label), they have re-released their 1991 album WHEN HEROES FALL, a “fresh US Power Metal” sound according to the press statement, combining the best elements of thrash and prog.Did it measure up to the hype? Not really… While I enjoyed the original release for what it was, I had two big problems with the re-release. First, the sound remained incredibly dated (first problem) and muddy (second problem). After learning that this was a re-release from 1991, I wasn’t surprised. However, I still think the band should’ve re-mastered their sound better. I also see the re-release as a missed opportunity to update the progressive elements of their album.The album’s opener, “Filming the Tragedy”, hits the listener with 80s sound quality and instrumentation/vocals right away - think AVENGED SEVENFOLD meets IRON MAIDEN. While it’s solid, minus the pervasively bad sound quality, it’s still a dime-a-dozen song that doesn’t really make me excited for the rest of the album. The live bonus track exacerbated the dated sound quality: the live version sounded a hundred times better – I could hear the bass and the notes were less muddy.“Silent Rage”gives more of a MEGADETH vibe, but like above, SSDD. I do like the symphonic elements in the latter half of the song, as well as the powerful guitars at the end. It was like they added extra oomph at the end, until the singer starts singing again, then its back to same-old, same-old.I went back to the original release of “When Heroes Fall” and it sounds better than the re-released version. “Prisoners of Habit” was better; granted that’s because its guitar and rhythm varied from the rest of the album. And “Hollowed Grave” is where I resigned myself to the fact that the poor sound quality of the album was a feature, not a bug. Everything’s muted. The guitars slur with the drums and I can hardly find the bass.The high point of the album for me was “The Shame”, and if they stylized the rest of the songs with this more progressive element, I’d like it more, even with the dated sound quality. The difference in instrumentation at the beginning piqued my interest and the rest of the song did not disappoint. The final song, “Black Rose”, was a solid ballad with nice instrumentation, despite the other issues.I think this re-release could have been a lot better with some updates. I want every album I review to be good, and I hate giving bad reviews. Unfortunately, the problems I had with this album were too big to ignore.
Line Up:
Robert van War - Vocals
Joe Longobardi - Guitars
Dan Rubel - Bass
Jeff Patelski - Drums
Tracklist:
01. Filming the Tragedy 04:52
02. Silent Rage 04:59
03. When Heroes Fall 03:18
04. Prisoners of Habit 05:04
05. Hollow Grave 05:41
06. Deliverer 04:15
07. Seventh Sign 04:34
08. The Shame 03:42
09. Black Rose 08:04
10. Silent Rage (Live) 06:00 (Bonus Track)
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