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.