Being a geek all my life, I grew up with the Masters of the
Universe and She-Ra cartoons, comics and toy line. Of course, when it was
suggested that I might enjoy a listen from a metal act that combine my love of
both heavy metal and geekdom, I couldn’t resist. Low and behold, we have the
debut EP from the band aptly named; She-Ra. The album: “Princess of Power”. I
know, it’s not exactly the most original title, but hey, it’s as true to the
source as you could possible get, right? Anyhow, She-Ra is a one-man project
headed by, Richard Weeks and as you might suspect, the three song EP is
immersed in the subject matter of the show She-Ra: "Princess of Power".
As for the music itself, Weeks describes the band as playing
a raw thrash mixed with death metal and although the trash elements are inherently
present, the death portion is only mildly felt as a whole. Take the opener, “She-Ra”;
it opens with a very catchy riff that sounds almost like a blend of 80’s video
game music and thrash metal. It’s fun and really sets the mood in a cartoon
fantasy world. The song then shifts to powerful chugging riffs and strong
drums, that in my opinion really drive the music forward. The bass pops along
in the background and really makes it presence known throughout the song as
well, which was nice. The next song, “The Great Rebellion”, shifts sounds
altogether. The song opens with a slow, melodic intro, which then transitions
into very distorted, down-tuned doom oriented chugging riffs. The drums plod
along slowly, matching the slower doom vibe. There is a short solo near the end
of the song that, reminds me of the guitar sounds of the band Countess; very
thick, distorted and played in the basement, if you get my drift. Finally, the
last song, “Hordak’s Whores” is a straight trash attack. Powerful and intensive
riffs with the speed to match. This would be the only song that has much of a
death sound blended into the band’s music and it’s done quite well.
So, overall, I was impressed with the band’s first showing
of musical capabilities. I felt the leads were, perhaps not the most original, but
they were well done in their own right. The rhythms displayed such as the solo
heard in “The Great Rebellion” and the opening of “Princess of Power” were nicely
done and very catchy. The drums and bass were incorporated adequately and both
added to the overall sound and had their own identity.
That being said, my only complaint would be the vocals.
First and foremost, I say this with pure constructive criticism, not distaste.
The vocals, at least on the first song, simply felt out of place. On “Princess
of Power”, they lacked the power and intensity that either thrash or death
metal fans would come to expect, which in my opinion held the song back from
reaching its full potential. The vocals on “The Great Rebellion”, I felt were a
nice representation of the sound and theme of the song, by the song itself felt
a little out of place. Perhaps on a full length, it would have fit into the overall
sound or story of the album much more seamlessly, but nonetheless, the song and
the vocals work well with each other. “Hordak’s Whores” is the one song that
the death like vocals came through on the EP and although I felt they were the
only vocals that carried enough intensity for the trash/death label, they
themselves could use a little fine tuning. That’s not to say they were bad, or
not enjoyable. Far from it, but they were a little rough around the edges.
Rating: 2.5
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