Throughout the ages, many beloved bands have switched singers. These lineup changes have gone down in history for right and wrong reasons. On one hand, you’ve got Ronnie James Dio joining Black Sabbath and David Coverdale joining Deep Purple. Both are considered fine additions who gave a shot in the arm to bands that were otherwise old and tired. On the other, you’ve got Ripper Owens joining Judas Priest and Blaze Bayley joining Iron Maiden. No matter the extent of their musical abilities, the fans just couldn’t accept these bands without their signature voices (Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson respectively).
Unfortunately, David Reece falls into the latter category of maligned metal singers. Reece took on the unthinkable task of replacing Udo Dirkschneider in Accept. The result was 1989’s Eat the Heat. It’s widely regarded as Accept’s weakest album. I say Reece “unfortunately” falls in this category because he’s had to work for the last 30 years to get past this stigma. After Accept, he sang for cult melodic rockers, Bangalore Choir, who released a classic album with On Target (1992). He recently had a stint fronting another German metal dynasty, Bonfire. Over the course of the last decade, he’s released multiple albums with his namesake band, Reece. Now, in 2020, Reece has released his first solo album, Cacophony of Souls.
Cacophony comes storming out of the gates with the opening track, “Chasing the Shadows”. This song, as well as “Blood on Your Hands”, “Judgement Day”, and the anthemic “Metal Voice”, remind me of cuts off recent albums from Judas Priest and Saxon. For the most part, the album sticks to this formula of well produced and well written traditional metal. There’s no shortage of crunchy riffs and fiery solos. Of course, the star of the album is Reece. He’s always had a rock solid, gritty voice, almost like a hybrid of David Coverdale and Udo Dirkschneider. Unlike some of his peers, Reece has not lost any of his magic.
The only tracks I don’t care for are the ones that veer into hard rock territory. Songs like the title track, “Over and Over”, and “No Disguise”, don’t sound much different than anything you’d hear on your local modern rock station in between Nickelback and Korn. I understand Reece’s desire to explore different styles. I just feel he’s stronger when sticking to metal. With that said, there are some outside of the box songs I enjoyed.
The power ballad has been commonplace on nearly every heavy metal/hard rock album since the 80s. With the golden age of the power ballad long past, these days its inclusion is generally considered filler. Reece breaks this cliche with the beautiful “Another Life Another Time”. His voice suits this style as much as it suits uncompromising old school metal. The other “outsider” track is my favorite, “A Perfect World”. Unlike the other songs which are either heavy metal or hard rock, this has a melodic metal/AOR edge. It especially shows during the infectious chorus. This song wouldn’t sound out of place on a Bonfire album.
David Reece is a true heavy metal underdog. He’s proved his worth and then some on Cacophony of Souls. I think it’s time we stop referring to him as David Reece: That guy who replaced Udo and start referring to him as David Reece: “Metal Voice” extraordinaire.
7 out of 10
Label: El Puerto Records
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
For fans of: Judas Priest, Saxon, Accept