Those metalheads with a long memory may remember when Obsession first came onto the scene on the ‘Metal Massacre 2’ compilation from Metal Blade Records (which also included Armored Saint and Overkill among others) before releasing the EP ‘Marshall Law’ in 1984 and then following it up with two albums before breaking up in 1989. Singer Michael Vescera joined Loudness and then Yngwie Malmsteen before reforming the band in 2004 and releasing their third album ‘Carnival of Lies’ in 2006. This is their first album since then, so it has been quite a gap (although not as much as between the second and third). The line-up these days is Michael Vescera (Animetal USA, ex Loudness, Yngwie Malmsteen) – vocals, BJ Zampa (ex Dokken, Yngwie Malmsteen, House of Lords) – drums, Scott Boland (MVP) – guitars, John Bruno (X Factor X) – guitars, Chris Mccarvill (House of Lords, ex Dokken, Jeff Scott Soto) – bass. Yep, these guys have all played in top bands, and it shows.
Just for fun, I put on “Shadows of Steel” from the ‘Metal Massacre 2’ compilation to provide a comparison and the only thing that are the same are the vocals of Michael Vescera – to say that they have moved on is something of an understatement as their sound (even allowing for the awful production back then) was far more basic then it is today, a thin layer as opposed to a solid mass of complexity. True, there were intricate guitar and basslines in the early Eighties but nothing compared to what they are providing now. That was the entrée, but now we have the main meal.
Power Metal with strong vocals and shredding guitars, this is something that fans of bands such as Iced Earth, Annihilator and Presto Ballet could well get a lot out of. Just need to get them to work on their output now…
www.theobsession.net
