Time Signature Destroyer of the night...

Genre: Speed metal

With a handful of releases of different types under their belt, Mexican speedsters Split Heaven released their fourth full-length effort earlier this year in the form of "Death Rider".

I must say that this album strikes me as leaning more towards traditional heavy metal than all out speed metal. Sure, there are fast-paced tracks like 'Death Rider', 'Sacrifice', and 'Descarga Letal', but you also have tracks like 'Awaken the Tyrant', 'Battle Axe', and 'To the Fallen' in a row, which are much more in the vein of Judas Priest-informed metal. To my ears, the latter represent the majority. Regardless where you want to place this album genre-wise, all tracks are solid and well-composed, emphasizing elements such as melody and larger-than-life catchiness.

While all tracks are good, my two favorites are 'Descarga Letal' and 'Destructor', both of which feature Spanish lyrics. Voth are catchy as hell, and, even if you don't speak Spanish, I am sure you will enjoy singing along to "Descarga Letal, ¡es puro metal!" and "Destructor, destructor, destructor de la noche".

Well-composed and well-performed, "Death Rider" dosplays solid musicianship. The production is in no way lo-fi, but still rough-edged enough that it is not too polished. Jason Conde-Houston's vocals may be an acquired taste, and at times he sounds slightly inspired by Kai Hansen, but I think he does a good job, and his singing style fits the music very well.

While not the most original album in the world, "Death Rider" is solid, catchy and very enjoyable to listen to if you like speed metal and old school heavy metal.

Kev Rowland The first thing that struck me when I came across this album was the artwork which I thought was great, and when I found out that these guys are Mexican then it definitely made sense. This is their third full-length album, and they have been around for some ten years now and have quite a reputation in their home country. They were the first Mexican band ever to appear at the mighty Wacken Festival, something of which they are rightly very proud. But, if you were expecting some gentle Mexican rhythms then look elsewhere as these guys have been influenced heavily by Iron Maiden, Iced Earth and Judas Priest and have set their sights producing music of a similar ilk. These guys are a strong unit, locked in and powerful, and this is a very impressive album indeed. The only niggle I have with it is that the production of the drums leaves something to be desired and the snare drum at times is annoyingly at the front of the mix, which is definitely not the right place for it. But, that really is only a niggle on something that while not producing anything new is definitely good for clearing the dandruff.

Gian Carlo Farjat has a great set of pipes, and while not quite in the realm of Bruce, Rob et al, he does a very find job indeed and manages to rise above the guitars of Pedro Zelbohr and Armand "Hank" Ramos. These guys really know how to play as one, with very strong co-ordination and harmonies. It is a metal album that is instantly accessible, allowing the listener to get inside with little or no effort, and dares them to turn it up just a little louder. It isn’t groundbreaking, and doesn’t have the power or hooks of the masters they look up to so clearly, but all in all it is a fine piece of work.