Har mateys, it is time to set sails back to good ol' times in heavy metal history. The sailors are Clairvoyant from Poland, and with their second release, EP 'Curse of the Golden Skull', they are ready to pillage and plunder. The course is set to Germany...

The title track opens the EP. Maybe "plundering" is a bit too strong word, but it definitely is more than just a petty tribute to Running Wild. From pirate themed lyrics to headbangable rhythms, from tight riffing to pounding drums, and familiar melodies and chorus in both vocals and guitar work. Twin guitar harmonies are utilized, too. Yeah, the guitars are both ass-kicking and epic at their best. Beginning with warm acoustic guitars reminding me of Gamma Ray, '1410' is another slab of Teutonic-sounding metal in that "pirate style", with bits of galloping NWOBHM. These moments occur on two reminding songs, too. 'Bite the Bullet' is the most unforgettable of the songs, even though there are some okay riffing happening in it, while the instrumental part steal the show. 'Conan' has a boring chorus, that plagues otherwise nicely rolling song, if not a very barbaric one. Its Conan movie sample is suitably embedded in the song.

The opener lasts for 5 and a half minutes, and following songs are even longer. The title track is a good composition, as its story of treasure hunting is finely told in the song. However, most of the songs are negatively affected by their duration. It simply feels there's filling in these tracks. 'Conan' and '1410' seem to appear on the band's debut demo 'Last Crusaders' (from 2009), but I haven't heard it, so it is hard to say how these songs have possibly changed during years.

The vocals are a tad rough, yet melodic. The vocalist's range isn't very wide, nor is his voice very powerful, and these factors cause the vocals to be a bit disappointing, if not bad. Guitarists seem to enjoy of soloing and playing harmony stuff. I bet they also take turns during these longish soloing parts. The guitar work is the strongest aspect of the band at the moment. The bass and the drums are fully capable for this kind of metal, too. As the production is packed with punch and the mix is well balanced between everything, this demonstration is quite a fine effort. Just one hint for the band: How about trying to write some shorter songs?

Reviewed by Lane
12/13/2012 20:20