CHINCHILLA – The Last Millenium

Another hard rock band that is strong enough to have their own identity and not go the German speed metal way a la Swedish and Finnish bands we all know so well, bands I like a lot though I dislike most of their copycats, is Germany’s Chinchilla. Having caught interest at the Metal Blade office in South Germany, a label that is largely into death metal, the band stands shoulder to shoulder with Brainstorm to fight the good fight of melodic yet heavy metal, that’s METAL with capital letters. This is Chinchilla’s heaviest record to date, and their fourth so far I think. The lyrics are somewhat related to death, or more likely the moment you meet your maker and get judged, and before you believe it is a concept album; no, it’s not.

It’s more a thematic album, I believe. The songs are hard hitting and melodic, and it’s hard to pick a favorite out of the good lot. Maybe “They Are Liars” or “War Machine” stand out from the rest? No, “War Machine” is not a Kiss cover (you might remember that the band did “I Stole Your Love” on the last CD, Horrorscope?) “The Boys Are Back In Town” on the other hand… I might have said something like this before, but if you like hard driving guitars, good vocals and strong melodies, you can do nothing wrong with The Last Millenium. Do you hear me???