Year : 2014
Style : Heavy Metal , Power Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 118 mb
Bio:
Nothing comes easy in the Rust Belt of Northeast Ohio, but that instills a certain kind of toughness into the people who live there. Most spend half their lives fighting their way out of this industrial wasteland.This is the story of WRETCH, born out the underground Heavy Metal scene and fighting to rise above the desolation.Formed in the early 80s, WRETCH rose to become one of Ohio’s most heralded underground metal acts, releasing the classic track “Life” on Auburn Records “Heavy Artillery” compilation album in 1989. However, after the band moved to Los Angeles in 1989 in a failed bid to get signed to a major label, things fell apart, and WRETCH was abandoned.WRETCH lay dormant for decades until its 2006 reformation, when the band recorded and released their full-length "Reborn" CD. The “Reborn” CD got them international attention and garnered an invitation to play at Germany’s Headbangers Open Air Festival in 2007. WRETCH recorded and released the follow-up CD, “Make this Garden Burn” to coincide with the HOA appearance, and Festival organizers thought so much of the title track, that it has since served as the Headbangers Open Air Festival’s theme song.In 2013, WRETCH was invited to play Greece’s Up the Hammers Festival, and the band again entered the studio to craft a release to coincide with the festival appearance. The result was 2013’s “Rise to Power” EP. The “Rise to Power” release got the attention of Germany’s Pure Steel Records, signing WRETCH to a 5-year, international recording contract.WRETCH’s current line-up is Ron Emig on vocals, Nick Giannakos & Michael Stephenson on guitars, Tim Frederick on bass guitar and Evan Gottschalk on drums. WRETCH plans on releasing its first full-length CD with Pure Steel in 2014.
Album:
WRETCH are a huge force in Heavy Metal, they made their foundation in Ohio in the 1980’s, and after a few line-up changes and a gap in their career lasting about 15 years, they made their return in 2006 and have since released numerous amounts of material and gained a large following in the United States and Europe, and also managed to sign a deal with Pure Steel Records after the release of their “Rise To Power” EP in 2013. Now one year later, they have released their new full length album “Warriors” which debuts their partnership with Pure Steel Records.At the first 30 seconds of listening to this album, I could already understand that I was listening to something special and indeed – very metal! The albums opens up with a short and atmospheric guitar melody appropriately entitled “Into Madness”, which sets the tone perfectly giving me a pleasant grin on my eager face, very excited to hear what these guys do with track 2. “Sleepless Dreams” then slams in straight away as a continuation of the melody in the opening track, with extra instruments added to boost the tension and anticipation, this is a fantastic song filled with very well written sections that differ from the rest of the song in the best possible way; in just 6 and a half minutes, WRETCH display a great sense of diversity of compositions skills in this one track, with a powerful chorus, heavy verses, a calm bridge and a very interesting and superb outro.Every instrumentalist here is very good at what they do, every instrument gives me the chills at least one twice in each song, and the vocal work is incredible here too, conveying a true sense of power and emotion! The only thing negative I can really say is that although the songs themselves can be very diverse, the album is a whole doesn’t say that as much; some of these songs do sound fairly similar at times, in terms of the riffs, rhythms, structure and tempos. I would be lying if I said I didn’t think to myself at times, “Hold on, have I already listened to this song before..?” But the overall quality of the music as a whole almost makes that negativity void of validity, although still quite present. I think this album has been very successful and will stand out as a monument in WRETCH’s career, and will give them a lot of recognition, boosting their name in every corner of the globe, which sure do deserve! Anybody would be a fool to pass this band and this album by. I urge you to check it out!
Line Up:
Ron Emig - Vocals (2012-present) - See also: Zone Eleven, ex-Necessary Evil
Nick Giannakos - Guitars (lead) (1983-present) - See also: Destructor, ex-Twist of Fate, ex-Breaker
Michael Stephenson - Guitars (lead) (2011-present)
Tim Frederick - Bass - See also: Eternal Legacy
Evan Gottschalk - Drums (2012-present)
Tracklist:
01. Into Madness
02. Sleepless Dreams
03. The Ones
04. Warriors
05. Fallen from Grace
06. Sacrifice
07. All I See
08. Sword and Stone
09. Death of Innocence
10. Never Alone
11. Watching the World
12. In Those Eyes
13. Rain
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
