BICOLOURED MEN – Curse Of Gods

The old obscurities of Heavy Metal are not outdated. Capturing this release made by this young group from Bologna, Italy, surely tells that tale. Curse Of Gods is a simple gesture to past years when NWOBHM and its spawns reigned the Metal scene. If you search through the timeline, through the year’s margin of 1978-1983, NWOBHM had it all back then and by defying the codes of 70s Hard Rock and AOR that became giants, it let in many weird influences like psychedelics, which gave new perceptions and characteristics to the upcoming form of Heavy Metal.

The Italians derived most of their influences and spirit from early acts such as Black Sabbath, Motörhead (yet in a very slow pace), Witchfinder General and other forms of British Metal. The Bicoloured Men is one of many examples of how a non-British band is able to master the arts of the old British Metal compositions. It doesn’t matter if it’s not as complex as modern acts are, it matters if the spirit within the old flame lives and draws breath. This band has made a mighty effort on making something delirious, mysterious and dark. Their problems within the release are less material issues and more production aspects.

Overall, one cannot blame the lads for not having too much funds in order to bring about a better sounding presentation. Nevertheless, mixing and mastering are ingredients that affect that parallel quality in a way. Almost every song experiences some kind of abruptions and over volume happenings. These factors are a catalyst for total disaster within an album and all that was needed was that crucial double check before releasing. Whoever made the mixing and mastering did not make sure that every instrument was sitting on tight with the rest of the others.

The music, on the other hand, besides all the production faults, is typical and simple, yet interesting enough to impress a vintage fan. By using simpler riffs, the band was able to sustain this foursome track of an EP. The riffs are crude and dirty but the thrill is there if you listen closely, especially when the solos are out of their cages. The solos are also simple yet they have that cool melodic sense of the earlier period. All the same, the drumming is very basic and it does not seem that the drum man has anything to say about it, musically speaking of course. In addition, there is the vocalist, which has his share of good moments, when the accent is not a major issue. Sometimes his singing pattern will remind a bit of Hetfield; however, he has his means of finding a way out of it eventually. The only guy that makes a big time performance is the bass player, who shows off with nice melodic tunes of NWOBHM, Steve Harris style of dominance.

Highlights: “Night Of The Pumpkins” and “Curse Of Gods”. The last two, “Crusaders” and “Singing For The Death” are solid and have good potential. It’s safe to declare that under a serious and well-maintained production, these guys will deliver the goods.