PARADOX - review added 12th October 2009
Album Review: Riot Squad (2009)
For fans of: Thrash... and Pyroclastic Metal
Paradox, like their German counterparts Metalium, are a band I discovered on 2001's A Tribute To ABBA (see the Rock Realms review here). Unlike Metalium, Paradox have otherwise remained off the radar to me until now.
Paradox was formed in 1986 by Charly Steinhauer (vocals and guitar) and Axel Blaha. The band was completed by Markus Spyth and Roland Stahl. 23 years on, Charly is still there fronting the group. He's now joined by Kai Pasemann (guitar), Olly Keller (bass) and Roland Jahoda (drums)
Riot Squad is only the band's 5th album and follows 2008's Electrify and 2000's Collision Course. Both the albums prior to that came at the end of the 1980's. The Paradox style is somewhere between power metal and thrash. The sound is nigh on perfect - the weight and speed of the guitars, bass and drums against the clear but potent vocals is staggering. This is as good as bands ever sound. You could call it power thrash, but I'm going to call it Pyroclastic Metal - obscenely fast, hot and stupidly potent. Whatever, it sounds bloody excellent!
The compositions don't quite stand up to the might of the sound. They are good, don't get me wrong, but the ferocity of proceedings (not the intricacies of the writing) carries the album on its shoulders. Opening track 'Suburban Riot Squad' defines the vibe perfectly. It's quick, brutal and kind of like a pleasant version of armageddon. Charly comes across like John Bush (on-off Anthrax vocalist). His voice is supremely strong, controlled, and has a wonderful tone. It then follows a similar theme throughout, only rarely pausing for breath. In fact the more you go through the album the more it sounds like a power metal version of John Bush era Anthrax...and that's really not a bad thing.
As a pure-bred thrash fest Riot Squad is exceptional; as an emotional journey it's a bit of a desert. It's one dimensional, but it's a bloody nice dimension. I haven't heard many albums this year I'd rather whack in the car and play at maximum volume. Whether that's enough to make this a great album or not is debatable.
Check out... That sound.
Track List:
01. Suburban Riot Squad
02. Hollow Peace
03. Riptide
04. Rise In Rank
05. Evolution Reset
06. Nothingness
07. No Place To Survive
08. Dream Hero
09. Planet Terror
10. Psychofficial
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Paradox , MySpace
