Given the rising interest in Female fronted Metal in the UK in recent years I have to say that I find it surprising that I had not heard much about this band before stumbling across their MySpace page because here we have a British female fronted metal band with quality songs and ... wait for it ... some degree of distinctiveness in their sound that sets them apart from many of the other female fronted bands that are becoming popular today.
Zangryus promote their music under the banner of Eastern Metal due to there being some eastern influences mixed in their music as well as a mix of Traditional Heavy, Thrash and Power Metal influences. Their music is fairly Progressive, without being excessively so for non-prog lovers, and there is also an epic, fast paced and fun feel to their songs that I think that Power Metal fans will easily be able to appreciate. Thinking of a Symphony X with female vocals would be a far more appropriate comparison than Nightwish or Lacuna Coil would be, or if you are as old as me then you may remember the band Chastain who also combined female vocals with neo-classical shred guitar solos - if you do then imagine that they had songs that were as good as the solos and add a more modern veneer and you get an idea of what to expect from Zangryus.
Guitars are handled by Ash, and you can easily tell that it is his band. Every song is propelled along by heavy and promiment riffs and feature guitar solos that absolutely shred. He is a neo-classical shredder in a similar vein to Yngwie Malmsteen or Michael Romeo and this guy really can play x10000000. I should point out though that he also does not fall into any of the traps that neo-classical shredders can be prone to falling into: he does not play the same solo on every song and his solos never degenerate into being nothing more than exercises in manual dexterity. Instead, there is plenty of variety in his playing and his solos are often explosive, full of energy and never dull. All fans of shred guitar playing really do owe it to themselves to hear this band.
Lead singer Smana sings with a more traditional Rock style rather than with the trying to be an opera diva style that is currently in vogue in the Metal scene. Her vocals are impressive, varied and powerful and anyone who appreciates good female vocals should enjoy them. Ash also provides clean male backing vocals to add to further variety to the vocal styles on offer throughout the album.
“Savage Mountain: Symphony Of Darkness” is actually the band's 4th album. A new EP called “Freedom” was released this year. It is a self-funded recording so don't expect the same production standards that you are used to if you are more used to buying CDs that have had a record company funding them, but that being said the production here is still good and my biggest complaint with it is that I found the drum sound to be a little too tinny throughout the CD for my tastes.
The CD starts very impressively indeed. A short Prelude leads into a varied selection of fast paced and energetic songs that perfectly showcase both Smana's vocal ability and Ash's guitar virtuosity. I found that the first half of the CD really held my interest and proved to be a very enjoyable listen, the 2nd half didn't live up to this promise however and I did find that my attention tended to wander a little during the last few songs, but that does not stop this CD being the best £7 that I have spent on a self-financed album since buying the original version of Season's End's “The Failing Light”. I recommend giving it a listen.
Standout Tracks: Call Of Thunder, Chains Of Shadows, Wrath Of Ice.
