I don't know if the members of this band were even at nursery school in the 80s but they seem quite devoted to the classic Metal flame. Even if they truly show their deep adornment for the golden era of Metal and have a good amount of skills and ideas to expose, truth is they need enough extra work in order to spit fire and shake the Metal world; we need to think in a universal level, don't we?

The young band of LETHAL SAINT hails from the beautiful country of Cyprus and has been around for 3-4 years now. With a self-financed demo CD forged in order to ensure the band's dynamics, "Lethal Saint" is the first full-length effort of the quintet and a dozen of metallic numbers shall probably attract your interest if keen on the 'unpolluted' side of Heavy Metal made in the 80s. Mostly flirting with the American style Metal music deployed years ago with bands like MANILLA ROAD (vocals style omitted), SAINT, HELSTAR, early JAG PANZER and ATTACKER, the songs also bear a strong European Metal attitude with reference to (of course) IRON MAIDEN, HEAVY LOAD, PARASITE and OSTROGOTH. The atmosphere is epic enough but not ultra 'armoured', with the guitars playing some powerful yet quite style-repetitive riffs and the galloping bass back this attempt quite well, while...

...the drums hold tight in plain tempos but need enough attention in e.g. double bass drumming. The vocals are honest and narrative at times, with enough sky notes and an average convincing throat, but rest assured this specific style is quite demanding when it comes to recreation of a warrior atmosphere, hence need to be standardized with enough practice. If I had to pick up the most prominent part in the playing of LETHAL SAINT this would probably be the notable leads in most tunes, with dignity and severe consciousness. It's a pity the production did not take more volume, since enough parts in LETHAL SAINT's music could make your neck break.

On one hand, the Cypriot band - with this release - leaves its mark and hold heads up high for an even better follow-up CD. With the standards raised in every Metal sub-genre in our days, "Lethal Saint" is a good beginning showing LETHAL SAINT has the guts to rip it up. Heads down, practice, consistency and may their next CD break loose soon enough to our delight. They believe in their band, and so shall we!

P.S.: The raw cover artwork may bring to mind those ultra rare self-financed Metal vinyls (e.g. CRYSTAL KNIGHT, SOLAR EAGLE, BLACK KNIGHT, ZEN VENOM) sold in Ebay for hundreds of $$$.
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