Maybe it’s just me, but this second week of October has been a rather slow week as far as new releases go. Perhaps it’s a calm before the storm, considering the next three Fridays are absolutely STACKED with new albums. Make no mistake, every band and their mom are rushing to put out their albums now, in hopes of landing on the inevitable year end lists we know all too well. This has given me some time to revisit an album I’ve been meaning to review for quite some time now, as it has made its way through the Chicago metal orbit for the past few months, Visions by Munition.
The members of Munition, while young, are all veteran players at this point. The band formed out of the ashes of Shokker, a band I championed heavily during their ’10s heyday. Munition consists of 4/5 of Shokker, alongside frontman Syl Smith, best known for his work with epic metallers Ancient Seance. You might be asking yourself: Why not just keep the Shokker moniker? Well, whereas Shokker was known for their hedonistic, carefree melodic metal in the vein of Dokken and ’80s Judas Priest, Munition takes a heavier, darker turn down the traditional metal rabbit hole, borrowing more from the US power metal underground and, ahem, ’70s Judas Priest.
By and large, Visions is a well rounded old school metal outing that touches on nearly every sonic facet of the classic ’80s scene. “Skyrider” opens the album in muscular fashion, thanks to its ripping guitars, energetic delivery, and euro metal leanings. This retro feeling is further expanded upon in the cryptic power metal of “Harrowed Halls”, its arrangement and solos baring distinct resemblance to early Savatage. If they wanted to, Munition could’ve made a Sirens worship album and probably nailed it, but instead they keep us on our toes.
Other songs with nods to the USPM scene include “Shattered Mountains”, “Phoenix Rise”, and “Beyond These Visions”, the last song being a power-doom crusher in the vein of Dio era Sabbath and modern day torchbearers Smoulder. It is definitely the most distinct cut on this album, and stylistically closest to Smith’s Ancient Seance. Aside from this, the no frills traditionalism of ‘System32″, “Highway of Nightmares”, and “Watchtower” hits the spot, lying somewhere between Exciter and Priest. Speaking of Priest, a faithful rendition of “Dreamer Deceiver” / “Deceiver” closes this affair out. Even tuned down a half step, this is no easy song to sing, so kudos to Smith for holding down the fort as well as he does on this cover.
By no means is Visions a groundbreaking album, but it’s a step or two above your run of the mill NWOTHM fare as well. The Shokker boys get to flex their musical and writing muscles, accomplishing more than they ever could with their original band, while Smith gets to tackle more accessible (compared to Ancient Seance) material. Couple this with some killer tunes and the spirit of traditional metal and you’ve got a homerun of a heavy album.
7 out of 10
Label: Independent
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Judas Priest, Savatage, Traveler