Swedish band SYRON VANES have been around in one form or another since the early 1980’s, releasing two albums back then, and then taking an almost 20 year long hiatus as recording artists before they returned again in 2003. “Evil Redux” is their fifth studio album overall, and their third since returning after the millennium. It was released through Denomination Records, a sublabel of Swedish Transubstans Records, in the spring of 2013.
“Evil Redux” is one of those albums that have given me a lot of minor frustrations. Not because there’s anything wrong with the music, but because there’s tons and tons of mostly minor details that sounds agonizingly familiar but that I’m unable to track down in my memory banks. The guitars in particular, riff constructions, certain common minor effects, some distinct guitar and drum combos that in sound or expression is of a kind I know I have encountered way back when I was a metalhead through and through.
Way back when is something of a key word for this production anyhow. This is a band that was active back in the good, old 1980’s and they have their stylistic foundation firmly placed in that decade. Good, old fashioned heavy metal 1980’s style with compact riff constructions pounding away, steady hammering drums backing it all and with powerful, melodic lead vocals on top. Judas Priest is probably the main influence for this band, and at times and especially in the vocals department Iron Maiden does come to mind. Possible traces of bands like Savatage and Empire-era Queensryche pops up on occasion, possibly some Dio thrown in there too for good measure, and certain recurring arrangements where light toned, frail guitar motifs are combined with harder edged riff constructions made me recall good, old Dokken. In addition certain tracks sports a subtly more modern sound, to my mind at least with some details fairly similar to the sound Alice Cooper explored on Brutal Planet.
The typical track on this album consist of chugging riffs with Judas Priest or Iron Maiden tendencies, instrumentation catering for the former and vocals for the latter, followed by an intermediate sequence somewhat more melodic in sound and fairly often with singalong qualities, leading on to a harder edged, impact heavy chorus. And these guys are fond of good, old fashioned anthemic chorus sections, in case anyone wonders.
Pleasant material at worst and fairly engaging at best, Syron Vanes have produced an album of the kind that warrants an inspection by those who long for heavy metal as it was made some 30 years ago. Those among them that appreciates the occasional singalong quality sequence and old school anthemic chorus sections a likely key audience specified.
My rating: 70/100
