Artist: Hounds
Title: Warrior of Sun
Genre: Heavy Metal / Power Metal
Release Date: 31st January 2020
Label: Punishment 18 Records
Review Flash
Good evening everyone, lots of work ahead so let’s get right to it: The first band of this lovely Tuesday evening is Turin, Italy’s HOUNDS. The band was formed in 2016 by Massimo Ventura (guitars, vocals), Marco De Fabianis (keyboards) and Enrico Cairola (drums) as a cover-band, later that same year they became a full-fledged band as Alessandro Zelferino (guitars) and Stefano Paperesta (bass) joined them. In 2018 there were first signs of life in form of the EP ‘Hounds’. The first full-length of the Italian five-piece spans nine songs and the total playtime is 46:21. Ventura sings with heart and soul and you can hear the influence of bands like SAVATAGE and VIRGIN STEELE, his voice is kinda rough and sometimes a bit off but the dedication to the song material is felt and is refreshing, the keys are effective and add to the atmosphere but here and there a moment without them would have been nice. The guitars are a bit too much in the background compared to the vocals and the keyboard elements, bass is mostly used to buff the guitar sound which is a common technique that I observe very often. All in all, melodic, wild and nice.
Conclusion: If your metal is allowed to have edges, dents and character you should take a listen to this.
Rating: 7 / 10
