Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

Imagine Demon Hunter playing the songs of Pantera and Slipknot and you will get some idea of where The Showdown are coming from with their third album. Describing it themselves as rawer and thrashier than their previous releases, it's metal all the way for the Tennessee four-piece. The sound on the record is gargantuan yet remains clear despite the massive amounts of distortion used by the guitars. The overall package is of the standard you would expect from Solid State Records, with the arrow-peppered half-naked warrior on the cover obscured by a large black sticker to protect the more sensitive music shop customer. Musically, the Greek mythology theme may be a bit difficult to follow, however it is quite simple to let the songs roll over you. "Aphrodite - The Disillusionaire", "Achilles - The Backbreaker" and "Prometheus - The Fires Of Deliverance" particularly stand out for their complex riffs and intense vocal delivery but the same could be said of almost any of the tracks. The only let down would be "Cerberus - The Hellhound Awaits", a more melodic effort that is not particularly suited to David Bunton's otherwise impressively flexible voice. 'Back Breaker' is not an album to redefine the genre, but it is definitely worth investigating.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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