Now where the hell did I hear that fuzzy guitar sound? Ohh yeah I know, I heard it for the first time on the gods of Metal, BLACK SABBATH. However, I also heard the same pattern on the probably the most influential SABBATH group, PENTAGRAM. Just when I thought that probably no band would like to use this sort of vintage sound, I received an e-mail from this band from the UK that consists of four dudes, actually five on the recording itself, that goes under the name of AMULET. Along with their message I was introduced to their debut EP / Demo "Cut The Crap" filled with the same food that bred BLACK SABBATH of the occult and the murderous nature of the man. Not that it opened my world again or something but it sure took me back to my early teenage years when I was listening quite a lot to early 70s BLACK SABBATH albums.

The most interesting thing about AMULET is that its members have been playing a kind of material that is probably twenty plus years older than them or better phrased, they had the guts on playing something in the classic vein instead of going modern with the common material going on today. For that, as I do for every young group out there that select to go against the grain and against the timeline they were born into, I salute them. Probably the one thing that AMULET had that BLACK SABBATH didn't was an amazing lead guitarist like Tone Deaththat is not in the band anymore. I really don't know why but it is sad that he won't take part in the band's late ventures. On the other hand "Cut The Crap" led me in the direction of two things that I didn't quite favor that caused my good positive opinion about this release to go flail.

First, there is the material in general. I had a fun time listening the entire track list more or lease while "Sign Of The High Priest" and "Black Magic Attack" were my favorites, however, both these two and the two others were too close to the old SABBATH classic songs like "War Pigs" and "Paranoid". Furthermore, although "Cut The Crap" is a part of an ongoing call to go old school and back to the roots, there is a lack of development around here or plainly lack of additional songs to grasp the idea behind the band. Second, there are the vocals of Jamie Eltonthat resembled slightly of the early 80s of King Diamond while he fronted MERCYFUL FATE through "In The Beginning" and "Melissa". I think that Elton has a great potential yet I think that he should dump the Ozzy Osbourne patterns as there is only one Ozzy for starters and second, he really doesn't need those.

AMULET made a fine debut, they impressed me with their will to go backwards, though I won't call it that but I am making it simple for others who think the opposite, in order to protect the old flame. Their road to become a prominent member of the new found NWOBHM and 70s Metal is secured.