CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED METAL

Reviews by Dr. Metal

HALFORD – CRUCIBLE

2002 Metal- Is

You may wonder, can Rob and the guys match the success of RESURRECTION? Can they withstand the pressure of following such a great album? I think so. You've got the same lineup as RESURRECTION and the following live album. The basic question is: how does CRUCIBLE compare to RESURRECTION? Well, in my opinion, it doesn't really compare. It is not the same cup of tea. It's not as melodic, not as upbeat and certainly not as catchy. But that's not a bad thing. I loved RESURRECTION, but CRUCIBLE is another chapter for the band. First of all, Halford have definitely turned things up a notch in the heaviness department. Almost every song is heavier than anything on RESURRECTION. And almost no indulgently melodic catchy songs. The guitars all sound down tuned and on the level with the bass guitar. The production is not as clean, but it's still very well done. Roy Z (who's worked with everyone from Helloween and Bruce Dickinson to Halford and Rob Rock), reprises his role as producer here. I've noticed he almost always goes for this kind of bass-y low sound. Also, Rob is not squealing like he did on RESURRECTION, he's usually growling and singing quite low. Sometimes the high and low vocals are combined. There are a few exceptions of course, Rob is just a vocal god who can't be contained.

The album opens slowly with a spooky instrumental called "Park Manor." After that, this album grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until track 15. There's some bone crushing songs on this album, like "Crucible," "One Will" and "Handing Out Bullets." I love the tune "Betrayal," Rob and the rest of the guys let loose on this one! Awesome track. They slow things down a little on "Golgotha." Metal Mike and Patrick Lachman are great on guitar, pure power and speed. Ray Riendeau is solid on bass and Bobby Jarzombek is once again the man that takes all drummers to school. Simply a blistering performance from him on this album.

My only complaint is that some of this stuff I've heard from Rob before, mainly in Fight. This album takes me back to those days. Overall, I really like and recommend this album. Easily better stuff than Judas Priest's latest album. It took a while to grow on me, but it's a solid release. I can only imagine how crushing these songs will be live!

DISCOGRAPHY:

RESURRECTION (2000) Metal-Is

LIVE INSURRECTION (2001) Metal-Is

CRUCIBLE (2002) Metal-Is

Click here for link to HALFORD MP3 Samples!!