Album Review by EDF
Opening THE VISION album with a 52-second instrumental intro, INTO THE DARKNESS sets the listener up to a musical timewarp where 1980’s metal is still alive with kick drums ablazing. Why, you might ask, should you even bother listening to this old dinosaur music? Well, this type of music is once again gaining popularity with the emergence of the Spinal Tap-like THE DARKNESS gaining a lot of media attention and increasing their fan base. Or is it that music has lost its rough edge to ‘wet music’ and slick production. For some, Wycked Synn will come as a breathe of fresh air while others grab for their ear plugs.
Founder member, Ken Orth, an East Coast guitarist who used to perform with his band as an opening act for the likes of Cinderella during metal’s golden years, has kept quiet since his group disbanded. Even though his love of music never diminished, he only recently built his own recording studio and auditioned vocalists to compliment his material. Orth picked Gary Grant, whose vocal abilities mirror those of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, who so happens to be one of Grant’s influences. With Keith Miller on drums and Jerre LaMar on bass, the Wycked Synn line-up is completed.
From the offset, there is an unlimited energy emulating out from the speakers, an energy that is rarely heard in music these days. The songs are the typical good versus bad, love lost etc, you know, proper metal tunes. Lyrically each song has a story to tell and musically you become curious as to what Wycked Synn would sound like live. Even the one slow track LET IT RAIN, which Orth dedicated to the memory of his grandmother, features the vocal talents of Kimberly Ledesma. Ledesma can be heard throughout the album, giving the songs more weight than if left to a lone male vocal.
Even though this is Wycked Synn’s debut album, it does not sound like their first album. This is due to the number of years each member has clocked up performing in previous bands. This album relives the heydays of groups such as Dokken and Queensryche but gives the listener a little extra.
