Another first for me is WARSHIP, a Greek traditional Heavy Metal band that has been active since 2003. They hail from Athens, and with “The Third Wave” they are treating us to their third album. Their debut is from 2010 and is called “The First Wave”, whilst their sophomore album “The Second Wave” was released in 2016. As I say, I hadn’t heard of WARSHIP before this album. The question has to be why not?

Well, To put it bluntly, “The Third Wave” sucks in almost every way. The music is alright, it is clear that the band had tried to write good songs, but somehow they haven’t been able to bring it to the polycarbonate in the right way. I will elaborate. The drummer Mister Dimitris Bechrakis does what he has to do. He makes sure his part of the foundation is sound and secure. The same goes for the bassist Mister Manos Zervos. He also has his parts down as he should, making sure that his part of the foundation is solid as a rock.

The problem lies with Captain Foris Ntrikos. First of all he is an at best mediocre guitar abuser. His riffing is passable and doesn’t disappoint, but when he tries to play a solo, he sounds like a young kid having his third guitar lesson. It is thoroughly embarrassing and it makes the songs feel very rickety and not really seaworthy. But I have to warn you, he is an even worse singer. I don’t know who convinced him to tend to the vocals, but he should have left them to someone who can actually sing. He is in the wrong octaves, he is out of tune, plus he is jumping all over the place. This is what really lets “The Third Wave” down as an album.

Think of it this way; if Captain Foris Ntrikos can’t play and sing properly separately whilst recording the album, how the hell is he going to manage when WARSHIP is to play live. That is when he will have to combine the two things he is incapable of doing before a live audience. I can just picture the people in the hall fleeing to the bar for a drink. Conclusion: I wouldn’t even dare to release “The Third Wave” as a demo, knowing I am making a laughing stock of myself. This WARSHIP should have been sunk before it left the dry dock.