Conquest, an American band that isn’t from the Bay Area but whose sound will remind you strongly of bands like Exodus and Testament, is probably one of the first metal bands to release a song about the infamous 9/11. Country music has been releasing “patriotic” blather almost the day after it happened, but that’s just to sell albums. You don’t feel a trace of patriotism in their songs. Not quite the same thing with Conquest — they are extremely pissed off. Check out “No Mercy 9/11,” and you’ll realize that if any genre should spout words from the God of War, it should be metal.
The CD, titled No Boundaries, starts with a Megadeth sounding song “Just Before the Dawn,” with spoken words followed by screaming. Vocalist Derrick Brumley has a voice somewhat akin to Chuck Billy, but he screams quite a bit more than Billy ever did. This is your basic speed metal song that has some interesting bass lines and heavy guitars.
“Ruin My Life,” is a groovy song, the guitars supplying a sort of metal-funk, but not along the lines of Infectious Grooves. It’s tons heavier than that. The best part of this song is the chorus, with the words, “You don’t know me, you just think you do, You don’t know me, cuz I won’t let you … ruin my life!” Conquest probably wasn’t shooting for feedback of “it’s a fun song,” but that is what it is.
The aforementioned “No Mercy 9/11,” starts with George W. Bush talking about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. This song is the one song where Conquest tones it down a little, and Brumley has a chance to sing instead of yelling the whole track. The band also slows it down, with melodic guitars creating an overall atmospheric anthem. When the verses start slow, and crescendo to the threat, “Time to die! No Mercy!” you’ll see that Conquest CAN mix it up. The words, “it’s kill or be killed,” reverberate throughout the song.
“What About Me” is another song where they don’t head out at break-neck speeds, and again, this is where they shine. They have a menacing style to their compositions, but have to learn that sometimes, less is more. If they can keep that up, expect to keep hearing from them in the future.
The CD ends with three live tracks, and from the sounds of it, they are perfect, note for note, on their live shows. They also have more energy, since the studio can’t really capture their aggressiveness 100 percent. Good stuff.
Conquest isn’t the most original band, but that’s not a bad thing necessarily. Good music is good music, period. It would be nice to see them try a little more variety next time around. Fans of this speed/thrash metal definitely need to check out this CD. And to find out more about Conquest, go to the band’s website.
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