This demo ended up in my hands after fire and ice (hey guys, at least it did manage to reach me!). After listening to it I came to this conclusion: there are still bands here in Greece that can surprise me. In a time period where most bands sound like copies of known (known?) acts, it's always good to see underground fighters trying to separate from the relentless majority of copy / paste ideology.
Parthian Shot were formed in 2003 by members of Blizzard and Deadlock. From there on the band played several live gigs in their home country (Greece) and finally decided to record their first demo entitled Emotion: Hope. This demo includes three songs (one of them is a re-arrangement of a Blizzard song) plus one cover version of Europe's Ready Or Not.
What the band delivers in this demo is either a multifaceted musical identity or a complete lack of direction. Let me explain. The first track called Have A Nice Day is one of those songs I love to hate(?). Yeah, like Rage Against The Machine (boy they were so angry, they signed with a consortium and sold millions of albums...). The second song called Clonosis (The Blizzard Legacy) is closer to traditional Metal. It brings in mind Iron Maiden-related material, still the band has added a nice break and atmospheric keyboards. The third song is a lengthy composition, quite dark and atmospheric with several progressive elements. Finally, the demo closes with the cover version of Europe's Ready Or Not.
Though the band seems able to handle all the different approaches with equal ease, I strongly advise them to make up their mind and follow one genre. Personally, I mostly liked them in their lengthy moment, in Emotion: Hope (the third song). Panagiotis Papageorgiou handles the different vocal roles well but I liked him more on Europe's cover. It seems he's got a great Rock voice. I would also like to mention the good sound quality of the demo. Parthian Shot is an interesting case for a band. Once they settle their ideas down I'm pretty sure they will offer us lots of good stuff.
Contact the band at: Parthian_shot03@hotmail.com