When the opening title track kicks in, the first thing I think is that this could really be a modern day Black Sabbath song, as many of the elements are there…the initial doomy riff, the Iommi like solo midway through, the dark atmosphere. One of the strengths of “Wicked Woman” is the way it is able to maintain a creepy climate throughout. Songs like the mysterious “My Precious Soul” and the 9 minute epic “Samuel Atan” showcase the bands talent in songwriting and execution. Although it is hard to say that all of these songs are totally engaging, there is enough unpredictability to keep it interesting. Throughout the record there are some smooth melodies, neat acoustic passages and even an excellent contribution of flute courtesy of Stavros Liagidis, the vocalist. Liagidis vocal style is kind of hard to describe, but I’ll take a stab at it and say it’s somewhere between Lee Dorian and Dave Mustaine. On some instances it works pretty well, but on others I am just not so sure (on “Come Out” it is reminiscent of a whining Mustaine on the song “Sweating Bullets”) The lyrics seem to be very reflective and one cool thing is that I noticed on the band’s site they have a little section that describes what all the songs are about so you can see where they are coming from.

While the overall mix and production come across as pretty solid, when I listen to this, I cannot help but think that the band would benefit from an overall heavier sound. Some of the riffs, while still effective, are just not as crushing as they could be. The band proves on this release that they are proficient song writers and a heavier presentation on the next record could help them achieve an upper tier. (think less hard rock and more METAL). Overall though, “Wicked Woman” is a good release from this up and coming band.

written by Joe Grammatico

Playing time: 56.00