The promo verbiage on NAKED SOLDIER's first effort, a 2021 EP entitled "Mirrorspeak," goes "Party music with angry guitars." A little cringe worthy there. And the EP comes across more as a demo than a debut, so that vibe kind of tracks. In comparison, their 2022 self-titled album, released August 26, 2022, comes with promo verbiage that proclaims: "catchy yet complex, expressive and enigmatic." And listening to the album, that description just about captures it. The growth this band has gone through over one short year is impressive.

I'm not sure if coming up in Zurich, Switzerland gives a band an advantage or disadvantage. I mean, the level of talent that comes out of that region has to be intimidating. For a music fan, it's fantastic; For a band, it has to be daunting. Either way, NAKED SOLDIER has certainly chinned the bar. Switzerland isn't about to turn its back on these lads. Apart from being potentially dangerous, they clearly have some staying power as evidenced by this nine-track, 45-minute offering.

To be clear, NAKED SOLDIER is a more of a Hard Rock band than an Extreme Metal outfit. Clean vocals, catchy riffs, nothing too dark or profound lyrically or thematically. The twin guitar attack keeps things amped up enough and Patrik Caminadar's are powerful and raw, but no one's going to be playing this album as the soundtrack to their next summoning of the dark lord. Plenty of energy but still in the safe zone when it comes to the vehemence and malevolence scale. Which isn't a bad thing, but here at Metal Temple we do lean toward the Extreme Metal side, so just a heads up for our readers.

NAKED SOLDIER is at their best when they just crank and stick to it. My pick of standout tracks include: the opener, "Green Pool" which features some serious belting by Caminadar; the heavy punching "Wicked Man" with a chorus and melody that just crawls in and nests; and the groove laden "Walk Your Way" with its nasty and gritty lead guitar work. Slower tempo tracks like "Satellite" and "Love Tree" will suit some, but I found them a bit on the tiresome side. Thankfully, the majority of the tracks pack plenty of adrenaline.

"Naked Soldier" is a strong debut full-length for NAKED SOLDIER. Word is they will be re-issuing their 2021 EP soon. Not sure if that means re-recording as well, or at least remastering. To give credit where credit is due, it's hard to stand out in the Switzerland crowd and these lads pull it off.  Some heavy 90's vibes with this band, more Hard Rock than Metal, but still a notable start. NAKED SOLDIER will be a band to watch.