Stephen
Cyprus, not exactly a country you'll expect to find a band that plays Manowar, Judas Priest, or Iron Maiden style, but R.U.S.T's 'Forged In The Fire of Metal' is a shout-out to the world that the spirit of NWoBHM is alive and well in their country. The first track, 'The Thunder Rolls', is a homage to Maiden's harmonic style, the riffs are awesome, the passage from Verse to Chorus is perfectly done, all in all a great track. The second one, 'Metal Child', is pretty good as well, but from these two tracks, I get to a point that R.U.S.T has a little trouble in their singer. Tasos Karonias' vocal to me here, is a bit hollow and sounds weak, or more like a heavy metal karaoke if you ask me.
That's a let down considering the rhythm section, especially the guitars, are tight and nice. 'Phoenix In The Night', if sang by a better singer, could be a monster track, with a major highlight on its huge chorus. Nevertheless, that track with the closing title track, are two of my favorites. The latter is more of a Manowar style, but somehow should have been shorter.
I think R.U.S.T shows promise but the band should consider thinking twice on whether this formation should last or perhaps try to do some reshuffle and see how it goes. Tasos might need more practice to control his pitch and enhance his singing style, but I'm eager to listen to the next effort and hopefully it'll be much better and original than this.