SLIK HELVETIKA – Slik Helvetika

Mikhall Myers returns with his newest project since the Destroyer era, under the name Slik Helvetika. He is in charge of the vocals and the lead guitars, and he was involved in the production together with David Ivory. Slik Helvetika’s debut album is like a time machine that gets the listener back into the middle 80s when a new music genre was born and was given the name Glam Rock/Metal. The characteristics of this new music scene had more to do with style and attitude than with the music. Bands like Mötley Crüe and Dokken, with debut albums Too Fast For Love and Breaking the Chains, respectively, quickly climbed the stairs of publicity setting the foundation for Glam Rock in the Metal industry.

After a short intro, “War Machine” comes in with a fast tempo, high-strained guitars, and a dominant bass sound. Next is “Scream,” one of the best songs in the album. Myers’s screaming vocals remind of John Gallagher, the singer and bass player of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Raven. The song comprises a steady and easy-to-follow rhythm section, with a catchy chorus that is a perfect Glam Metal example. In the rest of the album, Myers sounds too much like he is trying to be Vince Neil from Motley Crüe, which is one of the major drawbacks in many of Slik Helvetika’s songs. There isn’t much to say about the next two tracks other than the very good guitar solo in “Skies.” The song orientation is based on a catchy chorus and a good guitar solo, but with an almost boring rhythm section. Track six, with the title “Ride,” adds some sound diversity with a chorus that could be easily mistaken for a Megadeth song during the Countdown to Extinction era. “Vano” is an instrumental featuring some nice guitar arpeggios, playing the role of an intro for the one and only ballad on the album, called “September.” The song is solid, and some years ago it could definitely find a place on the play list of a ballad compilation.

The return to up-tempo songs is set with “Swine,” a track that has a lot of attitude with explicit lyrics, but still nothing new as far as the music arrangements are concerned. After “Swine” there are six more songs that add little to the overall rating of Slik Helvetika’s debut album.

The music arrangements are above average within Slik Helvetika’s debut release, but they offer little to the listener who may expect more than a tribute to the past. It may have been better for the album and the band if there were less than fifteen songs that give the impression of self-repeating. Maybe next time around, Mr. Myers should solicit corroboration in songwriting to add some needed diversity instead of doing everything by himself.