UNDER ATTACK is an Italian Heavy Metal band that blends elements of Heavy, Progressive and Thrash Metal with Hard Rock. Their debut album, "Virus Alert" released January 12, 2021 via Sliptrick Records. As of now, they are a duo that had some help from a friend, though it is unknown of this is something that happened due to the pandemic or is a planned event. Either way, their debut is thought-provoking and a good listen.

In their own words, "Virus Alert" is a concept album set in a dystopian future, though from the subject matter, it may not be that far off. Mass manipulation, financial institutions controlled by a few corrupt people, power struggles everywhere, this just sounds like the soundtrack for 2020. But all hope is not lost. We just need the hero to come through for us one more time.

The album leads off with "Soldier," a mid-tempo song that has a pretty good riff and features a lot of keyboards playing as ambient noise at times and as lead at others. Interesting guitar fills throughout and a well-done solo make this song pop. This is our introduction to the savior, but this is not the moment they begin to shine. This sets it up for later, though.

"Ready For Escape" starts with a faster, heavier riff and has a more galloping rhythm that paces the song really well. "Secret Plan" again slows down a little, but is tuned down a bit, making it feel nice and heavy without running you down. The lyrics here seem to point to a rewriting of history to fit a narrative along the lines of "history is written by the winners".

Starting off by mentioning fake news, "The Rules" seems to know that people tend to get stuck in their own personal echo chambers and only hear what they want to. This then reinforces what they believe and provides them ammunition for the arguments they will have going forward. Scary how accurate this song sounds.

"Beyond The Sea" comes next and moves a little faster. It's song about learning to live free, but having to change to get to that. This is followed by "Under Attack," a song with a crushing riff and the best guitar work on the record. The tones and tuning used are heavy and driving, just the way a song about being under attack by enemy forces should be.

The last three songs on the record, "The Sign OF The Cross," "The Last War," and "End Of The Road" round out the album and wrap up the story. Varying in tempo and feel, they focus a lot on making sure the story comes to a plausible end. Circling back to calling the soldier in the lead track as Prometheus, the story comes around and connects the end to the beginning, as any good story should.

UNDER ATTACK put a lot of thought into the plot line, covering everything from financial crises, mostly at the hands of the corrupt, to fake news. It is easy to put the virus in as the enemy and science as the soldier, or you can look at it from the perspective of any other "us versus them" scenario that is currently going on.

This record ends up being a bit prophetic. It is a snapshot of the world today. The songwriting is good and the performance is good. I look forward to possibly hearing more from this band in the future. I just hope they don't predict the end of the world....