There are, by nature, few Extreme Metal bands who comprehend the power of the very music that got them playing what they are today - good ol' Heavy Metal. Typically every new Metal trend has rejected the previous one that in fact created it. As a kid I got into Metal reading Kerrang! magazine from England (yes, it actually was once a Metal magazine!) during the NWOBHM. It glorified the die-hard, loyal to the end Heavy Metal fan, more than willing to fight to the death for bands like IRON MAIDEN, MOTÖRHEAD, SAXON, WITCHFYNDE, and DIAMOND HEAD - in the face of whatever limp-wristed new trend came along. There were no divisions in the Metal camp then, just varying tastes. It was "All For One, One For All".

I am happy to say that these Dark Ages for Metal are coming to an end! More and more Metallic Warriors in the crowds and on the stages are recognizing the vital necessity of taking their cues from the greats, from the legends of Metal. Take for example the utterly invincible new EP release by TYRANTS BLOOD, "Prophecy". All it took were two seconds and I knew that they understood everything that I said above. There is a way to reach the Metallic masses, all you faster / more technical / more brutal / more Troo badasses out there : a good riff. That makes you bang your head. That's right, I'm talking about Beavis and Butthead banging their heads and throwing the horns, nothing more. TYRANTS BLOOD know how to write that true Metal riff, no B.S., and shove it right down your Steel-Hungry throat in the bloodiest, most brutish, most morbidly fascinating way imaginable, in a hitherto unequalled massive fusion of Black, Death, and Heavy Metal. And this is not said lightly (!).

The EP opens with a psychotic breakdown riff that slices you to shreds like the barbaric sword emblem on the cover, and as soon as you hear the band cut things up you know you're in for a treat. The guitars harmonize like demonic vultures that are under the command of some cold and calculating force of evil. The rhythm section and then-vocalist Andrew Russell rip into the fray like some Barbarian Clan who ate Vikings for breakfast. At break-neck speed and with maximum brutality, they somehow manage to channel all this ferocity into one classic Metal riff after another. They always remain engaging - every note, every beat, every scream is memorable. It's becoming easy to identify such qualities As much as I love a ton of Extreme bands, I forget their riffs and I get distracted while listening, even though I don't want to be. It was never that way with the English Metal gods of old, or with KISS, or with MERCYFUL FATE and KING DIAMOND. And what is uncovered with TYRANTS BLOOD is that too-often-ignored tradition of simply writing good songs and to play them in a way that you're hypnotized by every single successive note. To play them to the standard of a Classical composer, who would endorse your performance because you played so well that he was able to sit there and write out every single bar of music you just played - no guesswork in trying to distinguish the actual piece from your mistakes!

We have three regular tracks here, and an instrumental. It is hard to comprehend how Russell can keep up with the relentless furious pounding of every beat, and yet somehow he does. The only limitation to be found here is that due to this particular form of arrangement (as I said the vocals are busy with a rhythmic lockdown), they therefore don't get the opportunity to release themselves from mostly cut-time blasting upon which each lyrical word is placed. "Riddle Of Flesh", the instrumental, evokes more furious headbanging while boggling the mind with a wide variety of first class passages into untread metallic territory, suggesting that TYRANTS BLOOD are potentially about to lead us into a formidable age of ultra-violent brilliance. An interesting bass and kit section using a progression which is in fact one of the eeriest riffs performed by extreme Punk-Fusion icons NOMEANSNO (just coincidental as far as I know), is developed into a syncopated splice with the initial dissonant bass line, building the tension up further and further to a ferocious climax. I must commend drummer Matt Modder on his playing throughout this section, somehow a mad flamboyance of rhythmic extravagance that doesn't even hint at obstructing the flow of the music. This guy's so smooth he oughta be brought to a lab and bottled as a lubricant! However, I won't obscure the picture. The fact is the drumming here is so insanely and relentlessly brutal that bringing in the shocking amount of complexity here and pulling it off so effortlessly is, given Tyrant 's Blood's uniqueness, unprecedented. This goes for every player in the band; I know the axe-addicts out there will be in ecstasy as well.

Recently I went to see these gents play, and thanks to some moron, the P.A. got damaged and kyboshed their set. After listening to this, I was even more frustrated about missing a performance. Fortunately for me, I'll likely see them live soon, but for everyone else, buy this EP, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. Then, you can vehemently demand that they come to your town! I think we might have a winner here folks.