Time Signature Three-way metal combo...

Genre: power-thrash

"Place Your Bets" is the sophomore full-length effort by French power-thrashers Holy Cross. I have not heard their debut, so I have no frame of comparison, but I defnitely like what I hear on this album.

Drawing on thrash metal, traditional metal, and US power metal, the French quintet have found a powerful three-wat metal combo. Their music is in no way original, but therein lies its strength. Drawing on influences from Iced Earth, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, they have taken the best of traditional metal and US power metal and spiced it up with thrash metal elements. This means that, virtually every song offers something immediately recongnizable to fans of traditionally oriented metal - something that resonates deep in the our metal souls. The listener is treated to solid riffs, wailing screams, and pounding drums as well as rocking guitar solos.

The musicianship is top notch, and the songwriting is solid and characterized by a deep instinct for what makes good traditional metal. The vocals do not sit that well with me, as I find them a bit over the top (interestingly I prefer Mickaël Champon's Halford-esque screams to his mid range raspy singing style). The production is pretty good too.

While not super original, "Place Your Bets" is a joy to listen to. It has all the things that make good traditional metal, and the power and thrash metal elements add an edge that is bound to appeal to fans of those genres.