TORCHLIGHT PARADE – Torchlight Parade

“He just won’t die” screams vocalist Matt Engel, as Torchlight Parade bludgeon their way through another number. Alas, it’s a sentiment that soon becomes a hostage to fortune, as the St Louis-based four-piece offer little in the way of rousing energy or melodic invention.

It’s a pity, because the initials signs were good. A band displaying all the traditional virtues of classic heavy metal that also boast three morticians amongst the core membership. And if that none-more-metal choice of occupation fails to shift your needle, there’s always the flaming bibles and confetti canons of their live act.

The trouble is, the music’s not very good. Titles such as “Golgotha” and “Songs of Thunder” hint at the necessary sword ‘n’ sorcery mayhem; but that’s as far as the fun goes. The songs crawl by in an agony of boomy production and screeching vocals, with only fitful reminders of what makes this genre so great.

Of the tracks on this collection, the richest pickings are to be found towards the end.  “Holy Fire’s” gentle chorused beginning offers something in the way of dynamics, while “Metal to the Pedal” distills the best of melodic metal into 4 hard rockin’ minutes. But elsewhere, the general lack of imagination makes too many demands on the listener’s patience. “Golgotha” meanders in search of a tune and “Salvation’s” frantic accidentals fail to convince. Even “Angel Wings” – a pean to a lost love – turns into a lumpen stab at balladeering that seems more of an insult than a tribute.

The retro scene is crowded with bands who want to take us on a trip back to the leather and sweat of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Torchlight Parade should at least be congratulated for trying to carve out a niche in this market and with more mature song-writing, they may yet ape the best of the metal pioneers. As it is, this album represents the shadow rather than the substance.