KAYSER: "Kayserhof"                 kayser                                      

The band is leaded by the ex-Spiritual Beggars vocalist Spice finished the recording of the debut album 'Kaiserhof'. The band features also Mattias Svensson (The Defaced), Bob Ruben (ex-Mushroom River Band) and Fredrik Finnander (ex-Aeon). Recording in Caesar Studios (Soilwork, The Defaced a.o.)

release date 13 June 2005

    From Sweden none-the-less. Off the bat, without having read Kayser’s profile on the Scarlet Records website, I would have thought this band was American. The singer’s accent is non-existent in the way he sings. And the band reminds me of the old thrash bands of the late 80’s and 90’s. This is a great sounding band! I could really hear Tom Araya’s (slayer) influence on some of these tracks and the solo’s, I just don’t hear these many solos in CD’s anymore, not even from a melodic death metal band from the same country. Let us examine the tracks a little closer…

This CD opened up in my face with 1919,  1919 came at me with a blazing solo and a thrash riff that reminded me of something Slayer or Testament would write! Spice even sounds like Araya! The guitars take command in this track and at first glance, Spice sounds really nice on the mic! He’s shouting, it’s not quite growling, it’s perfect that’s what it is! The drums are on the money too. The song is awfully short though, meant to get the listeners attention, it got mine. From what I have gathered Good Citizen is a fan favorite. Not as thrashy as some of the other songs on this CD but he vocal melodies are the best on the CD. If I had to compare this song to something another band has done, I’d have to compare it to Megadeth. One could easily sing along to this song in their car or just rock out to, it’s heavy but it’s much more articulate, there’s deffinatly structure to this song, a type of structure that new bands tend to forget about. This song could have came out in the early 90’s and easily blended in. 

Another track I liked was Like a Drunk Christ, this song doesn’t sound like any other band could have done. What I mean is that in this song, they don’t sound like any other band! After listening to this song about seven times, I found my self head-banging to it. It has a very steady guitar riff that’s sure get some guitar protégé’s something they want to learn! The chorus is very catchy too I found myself singing this one too at loud levels in my car. Lost Cause sounded like something Slayer would have done. The guitar riffs, the drum-lines and the vocals just scream Slayer! It’s catchy, is it original? Not really but does it sound good? Hell yes! Spice’s vocals are just great, I would have to say they are my favorite part of the band! I just don’t hear this type anymore and the rest of band is just all out awesome.

     I’d have to say the sonic quality is a bit standard. I have no complaints or hang ups. The vocals are of a great quality although sometimes the levels change from time to time and aren’t as consistent as they could be but I suspect the producer was going for a sound of the past, such as Slayer or Testament of the early 90’s. The guitars sound like something from that era in the mix this also includes the bass. I could not hear the bass at all! If anything, it blended in with all the other parts. Matter of fact, the bass playing is a-typical of that era it was virtually non-existent in the mix. Reminds me of bands from that era where the bass player followed the guitar players riffs, I should know, I was one of those players at one point.  I would have to say that would be the only negative aspect of this band otherwise this is what great bands are made of, musicians like these have inspired all metal bands from every genre. This is band is worth checking out. Get this CD! Get some beer and grab your friends, this is worth sharing!

rating: 9/10

Matthew Haumschild

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