ATTICK DEMONS – Atlantis

Attick Demons is a six-man Melodic / Power Metal band from Portugal. These guys are marketed as being heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, and upon listening to their debut album, Atlantis, there is no question regarding the validity of that statement. The music on this album is like Iron Maiden on steroids; from the bellowing of lead singer Artur Almeida’s Dickinson-esque style vocals, to the triple lead guitar threat, these guys pack a punch of a high energy colossus that literally blows you away with every track.

The most surprising thing about Attick Demons is they had been undiscovered in the Portuguese Metal underground for 15 years. They basically make Metal the way it’s supposed to be made, encompassing all the basic formulas originally captured by many legendary bands during the NWOBHM era in the late 70s and early 80s. The opening track, “Back In Time”, takes in that whole premise by proclaiming “It’s no surprise, I’m back in time”, and the song itself is a virtual head banging thrill ride into a place of Heavy Metal solace.

Don’t be fooled into thinking these guys just play regurgitated Old School Metal. The foundation may be based on aged principles; however the material is quite modern. The last three or four Iron Maiden albums have been criticized for having a relatively sluggish guitar trifecta, however Attick Demons use of three guitars works extraordinarily well. In fact, there is a very vibrant sound coming from them throughout the entire album as well as superb and spot-on guitar solos.

Of course the champion of the album is vocalist Artur Almeida. He obviously has studied the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of Bruce Dickinson in great detail. He has a little more concentrated depth in his voice than Dickinson, however, and comes up sounding more like Blaze Bayley during many of the tracks. During the opening of the track “Sacrifice” there is a slow and acoustic piano intro, and it is here where you really hear the exposed nature of his amazing vocal ability. The album would probably be much more lyrically insightful if Almeida used more of this style of singing instead of the constant Dickinson / Bayley mimicking, which tends to grow to a slightly irritating level after several listens.

Overall, Attick Demons is exactly how it’s billed: very intense, very energetic, and reasonably inspiring. The only downside is the excessive parallels to Iron Maiden… it takes a lot away from the individuality of this band. They even went so far as to feature a guest vocal appearance from Paul Di’Anno on the title track. Atlantis is an enjoyable listen (for the first two or three times), but unfortunately not one that will likely stay in regular rotation for a significant amount of time.