Southern U.S.-fried, Italian thrash metal might
sound a little awkward at first, but it really does make perfect sense.
These Italian metallers, Cancrena,
are influenced by the likes Pantera, Testament, and Sepultura. It would
seem that Pantera’s Southern U.S. metal sound is their largest influence
in this Italian band, so hence the dubbing “Southern U.S.-fried, Italian
thrash metal.” There is a quantity of catchy riffs on this seven track,
thirty-seven minute disc, simply named, “Fears.” With many of
these riffs, you would expect this to be the real Pantera, mainly because
it has a bluesy metal sound and some of those screaming vocals like Phil
Anselmo. However, I don’t think that this band has anything new to
offer. Much of this disc is sufficient, but not really special. There are
solos, catchy riffs, and some riffs that will light a fire under your ass,
but it all has been done before. Cancrena needs something that makes them
unique enough for people to come back to their music and future releases.
Keep up with the groove-driven heaviness and maybe add more of that element.
That is a definite strong point of the music. Being a little more selective
with the adjoining riffs could be what the band needs. It could make their
music more attention grabbing. Production is OK for the most part. “Fears”
has a little bit of a live touch to it. Or like an eighties production sound.
Some more balance in the levels is needed. I guess some of this could be
expected since this self-produced disc, and is basically a demo. Though
I guess you could call it an EP too. This disc does have the two songs from
their first demo, so you can see their progression from then until now.
Hopefully they will continue this trend to their next release.
Rating: 72
Reviewed By: Jeffrey D. Adkins |
