The evolution of Cauldron is quite fascinating and their new album, “New Gods,” is yet another strong effort from the Canadian power trio. From a young and hungry band offering blistering riffs of classic metal fury to a more melodic hard rock attitude, Cauldron is beginning to find the right blend of heaviness and melody to where the songs really standout.
On their previous album, “In Ruin,” I definitely noticed the band focusing more on developing strong songs and the overall production of that album was simply amazing. The band's 2007 debut EP, “Into the Cauldron,” came out during a time when a lot of young metal bands were trying to emulate the classic acts by creating heavy riffs and throwing around lightening fast guitar parts. I am glad Cauldron never participated in the speed war by showing off how fast they could play and I think that the band’s focus on solid musicianship plus strong songwriting skills has led us to the current release, “New Gods.”
As I said earlier, “In Ruin,” was exceptional in terms of production, so I was extremely impressed with how they carried that sound over onto the new album. The drums sounded great along with the guitar and bass sound which highlights the bands ability to craft some killer classic metal sounding music Also, I thought bassist and vocalist, Jason Decay, sounded great throughout the album and his vocal abilities do not disappoint.
From the start of this album to the very end, Cauldron deals a strong selection of tracks. The album opens with the fierce hard rocking song, “Prisoner of the Past,” which I think sets the tone for the album by presenting a tight rhythm section and crushing main riff. Guitarist Ian Chains is an outstanding player who may not be the most flashy and overly technical guitarists around, but he gets the job done and knows how to construct heavy riffs that convey raw emotion. I thought the guitar solos on tracks like, “No Longer” and “Never Be Found,” were well executed and did not throw around random notes, or go off into pointless directions.
Other tracks I wish to highlight are, “Save the Truth/Syracuse,” “Isolation” and “Together As None.” On, “Save the Truth/Syracuse,” the band hammers out a heavy dose of classic metal riffs and bold sounding drum parts. I feel like drummer, Myles Deck, provides a powerful punch on this song and throughout the album he is the beating pulse of this band when pertaining to rhythm. “Isolation,” is an instrumental composition stands out from the other tracks and in the end demonstrates the band’s musical creativity along with their ability to depart from what one would expect. Although I think the song on this album that vividly stood out for me was, “Together As None.” The song features a well built chorus section and the lyrics were extremely well written to compliment the instrumental composition. In this day and age I feel so many bands fail to capture the essence of their sound with solid lyrical content and this song was rather refreshing to hear.
I believe Cauldron did a tremendous job on, “New Gods,” by conveying a classic metal sound, yet found a way to make the music sound distinct and strengthen their musical identity. Fans will enjoy the balance of classic metal riffs with a more melodic hard rock touch and compared to most of the music coming out, there is no real filler because each song is written with purpose and meaning. There is no slowing down for this band and I foresee them continuing to pour their die hard classic metal worshipping hearts and souls on future releases.
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