It must sure be of help to have names like Robin McCauley, Tony Franklin or Gregg Bissonette in one’s address-book. Not only adding their talent to the recordings, but the first co-writing as well. To the band 4 persons are credited, 3 are on the photo and only 2 perform. Dave Bates on guitar and Margarita Monet on vocals. Oh well, never mind, as Edge Of Paradise deliver a 9 track album that lasts, ehhrr 30 minutes…. Okay, quality over quantity? Lets find out.
First track Falling Down has a very modern and aggressive sound to it. Margarita screams a lot on the top of her lungs it seems. To my ears her voice gets pretty thin in the higher regions. But that may be a matter of taste. It is a fact that a lot of people really dig this full on metal. Next tracks are of equal style. And it may be me, but I kept thinking the sound sometimes is a bit out of balance. Vocals are high up in the mix, drums and bass are fairly low. It is evident though that Bates is one hell of a guitar player. Shredding like the best of them. Further proof of that comes with the last three tracks, as they are instrumental. And to be honest, those are the ones I liked best.
So all in all I have mixed feelings about this album. Little doubt that there will be a lot of people wanting this for breakfast. And if you like your metal full throttle and aggressive, you will like this too. I hope they reconsider their strengths and try to balance the overall sound. Promising nonetheless, as the talent is surely there.