ARTIZAN — Curse of the Artizan (review)

ARTIZAN — Curse of the Artizan album cover Album · 2011 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Time Signature
Rise...

Genre: traditional metal

At first listen "Curse of the Artizan" might sound like good old traditional heavy metal with galloping guitars, guitar harmonies, bobbing drums and base, and Geddy Lee-inspired vocals. And in a way, it is. And it is pretty good, too.

Most, of the tracks are straight ahead, but with inbuilt mildly progressive elements, such as rhythmically slightly off bridges, a couple of odd time signatures, long acoustic intros in a couple of tracks and so on. In a way, Artizan, at their most progressive, remind me a bit of acts like Maiden, Priest, early Fates Warning and early Queensrÿche jumbled together - and that ain't a bad thing.

Artizan are obviously good musicians, and the album is characterized by professionalism all the way through. Performing lead guitarists Tony Smotherman and Hermanus Rombouts deserve to be mentioned because of their impressive and catchy classic metal style solos, which add a dimension of epicness to the album.

Also, vocalist Tom Braden makes an important contribution with his voice (which sounds like a less acrobatic combination of Geddy Lee and Claudio Sanchez) and the way he delivers the catchy chorus lines (check out "Rise", "Man in Black" and "Fading Story"). It may take a couple of listens to get used to his voice, but, when it clicks, you can't really imagine this album with any other frontman.

"Curse of the Artizan" is a catchy traditional metal album with emphasis on melody, and should appeal to fans of Maiden, Priest, early Fates Warning and the like.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Scorching Gaze Sludge Metal
URZAH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Desert Frost Sludge Metal
TURBO MOSES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Scorched Mind Sludge Metal
SCORCHED MIND
Buy this album from MMA partners
Echoes Of The Devil's Den Death Metal
TERMINAL NATION
Buy this album from MMA partners
Glamdemic Glam Metal
FERRETT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

TERMINAL NATION - Concrete Hell / A Pound of Flesh or a Gallon of Blood Video (Decibel Flexi Tracks)
TERMINAL NATION
Bosh66· 7 hours ago
Dissection - Starless Aeon (Official Music Video)
DISSECTION
Tupan· 19 hours ago
OPAL IN SKY - Empathy, The Gift (Music Video)
OPAL IN SKY
Bosh66· 22 hours ago
OPAL IN SKY - The Sacral (Lyric Video)
OPAL IN SKY
Bosh66· 22 hours ago
OPAL IN SKY - Planetary Bliss (Music Video)
OPAL IN SKY
Bosh66· 22 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed