Cellador: Honor Forth

Having released an EP back in 2005 and followed it up with a full length album a year later, Cellador existed with the express intention of bringing the European Speed Metal sound to the USA. Things didn't go quite according to plan however and it has taken seven years for this band to re-emerge with Honor Forth, another slice of the sort of music Helloween made famous and that, say, Dragonforce continue to pursue with some success.

Well I say the "band" have re-emerged, but in truth Cellador 2013 is a vastly different beast, only guitarist Chris Peterson surviving the hibernation, with his duties now also including lead vocals, a position previously filled by Michael Gremio. Why he didn't take this step previously I'm not sure, because his voice is completely right for this style of music, soaring, authoritative and muscular. Caleb Deleat backs Peterson on guitar and the pair are majestic and powerful right across the four tracks on this convincing comeback EP.

The formula is one heard before and if you love your Euro Speed Metal - blazing riffs and galloping drums (courtesy of the excellent Nick McCallister) - you're gonna need to hear this. Diego Valadez does bring the sound up to date somewhat with his unobtrusive synth contributions (a new aspect to the Cellador sound), however not in a way which really alters the ethos of this band; leaving James Pickett to handle bass with skill.

There's not much to choose between the four tracks, "Honor Forth", "I'm Omega", "Unchained" and "Conscious Defector" all pummelling at 100 miles an hour (OK, 95, there's less blinding need for speed here than Dragonforce employ), drums hammering, vocals hitting the heights. "Conscious..." features a short synth solo, "I'm Omega" a little more heaviness over speed, however Cellador know what they are good at and see little reason to stray far from that path. For a four track EP it is a perfect recipe, over a full album, it might all become a little too cookie cutter repetitive. However as a short, sharp reintroduction, Honor Forth does a fine job and marks Cellador out as a band well worth keeping an eye on.

Track Listing
1. Honor Forth
2. I'm Omega
3. Unchained
4. Conscious Defector

Added: November 20th 2013
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Cellador online
Hits: 2072
Language: english

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