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The Scottish poet Robert Burns famously mused “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / gang aft agley.” Well, in the spirit of creatures gone astray, we can add foxes to the list, because this four-track second demo from Sweden is a consummate misfire. Classic/power metal, perhaps the most venerable but staid of the metal subgenres, lives or dies based on two primary factors: songs and singing. In this respect, Cult of the Fox stumbles on an epic scale. It’s nearly unfathomable how tuneless these, er, tunes can become when left in the hands (or throat, rather) of a frontman who doesn’t so much sing or scream as bellow and groan. Of course, that’s giving far too much credit to the songs themselves, which simply aren’t any good, either. Trad-metal needs a great verse, a great bridge and a great chorus... rinse and repeat. These songs’ respective parts, however, are so shoddy and formless that it’s hard to discern a verse from a chorus, especially since neither is given its requisite emotional heft by the guy delivering the words in mushmouthed fashion. Garbled metal singing has its charm, as evinced by the likes of Udo Dirkschneider (Accept, U.D.O.) and Gerrit Mutz (Tragedy Divine, Sacred Steel), but there’s a certain personal x-factor at work in those instances that simply doesn’t exist here. Only the title track, an uptempo and decent piece of work, utilizes gruff singing with a sense of songwriting elan, suggesting that perhaps this band’s fortunes lie in thrash rather than power. Barring that, Cult of the Fox can easily be written off as one of those poor bands who love and play classic metal, but perhaps shouldn’t write and record it. ...Ever.
| Tracklist |
| 1. A Witch Shall Be Born |
| 2. In Darkness We Lie |
| 3. Spirit Of The Hunter |
| 4. The Power We Serve |
: 18:41
| Buy other Cult of the Fox albums |
