PECTORA – Untaken

If Pectora’s promotional material is to be believed, their full length debut is hard hitting melodic Danish Heavy Metal where old school and new school Heavy Metal collide showcasing a band that knows how to write powerful songs with strong riffs, memorable melodies, harmonies and sing-a-long choruses. You are also advised the album is for fans of Accept, Judas Priest and Hammerfall; though their vocalist sounds like James Hetfield’s twin brother.

After setting this glaring omission of the obvious aside, the exulted descriptions often ring true. The song writing justifies average song lengths in excess of 5 minutes. The guitar work generally won’t impress; however, outstanding bridges and tasteful solos are in nearly every song. Unfortunately, the vocalist is occasionally pushed outside his range. No one expects James Hetfield to sing like Mark Tornillo, Rob Halford or Jocaim Cans, but that’s what happens here. Compounding the issue, the vocals are mixed hot, front and center which compounds the challenge.

The title track leads off in deliberate fashion allowing the listener to absorb the foundational riff before slowly building complexity with multi-stage bridges between choruses. There are well placed backing vocals and excellent bass guitar work coloring outside the lines. “Collide” follows with intensity and bursts with lyrics which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Dio album. “Haunted Memory” reduces the tempo to emphasize the chorus delivery and riffs. Atmospheric backing vocals are used to good effect and crushing bridgework features multiple doses of sludgy riffs. “The Fare” imparts a commercial impression with its clean, emotive chorus and restrained riffs. “Running Out Of Days” delivers crunching, low slung Modern Mental riffs. There’s wonderfully dark and menacing bridge work, but obvious vocal overreach imparts an unwelcome rawness and stress. On “Unkindled Flame,” the vocalist again attempts to reach unattainable notes but a hard churning bridge redeems the song. “No Regrets” is a repetitive amalgam of chugging riffs with little cohesion. It’s disappointing it lacks the thoughtful architecture pervasive in earlier songs. “The Arrival” closes the album on a positive note with a slow wave of heaviness featuring vocals that are more spoken rather than sung. The band should consider employing more of this vocal style.

The band states Untaken is “…an album rich on full blown heavy metal from start to finish. Wrapped up in a modern and big production.” While the production could’ve used some restraint on vocals, most songs on Untaken are indeed worthy of being played at high volume.

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TRACKLIST (Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8)

1. Untaken
2. Collide
3. Haunted Memory
4. The Fare
5. Running Out Of Days
6. Unkindled Flame
7. No Regrets
8. The Arrival

LINEUP

Vocals: Kenneth Steen Jacobsen
Guitars: Morten S. Nielsen
Guitars: Søren Weiss Kristiansen
Bass: Laurids Leo Münier
Drums: Nicolas Kraunsøe Frandsen