By Gruesome Greg
Two-man bands are all the rage these days, and Leeches of Lore are an Albuquerque duo who, like many, feels that the bass guitar is an unnecessary instrument. Call me a bitter bassist if you will, but I prefer bass/drum duos like locals Lullabye Arkestra…
Anyways, this record is the band’s debut full-length, released by MeteorCity, who seem to be signing a lot of new talent these days. Fitting eleven tracks into 52 minutes, Leeches of Lore is quite the mixed bag. It goes from fast-paced neo-thrash/NWOBHM riffing to heavy rock a la Big Business to mellow proggy noodling and Johnny Cash-era country music—and that’s just within the first three songs!
Leeches of Lore are at their best when they play fast, but even then, they sound pretty generic. Frontman Andy Lutz is a second-rate Halford wannabe, and his guitar playing is paint-by-numbers NWOBHM. Then again, they’ll go from a fast-paced rifforama like “Cougar Vs. Bear” to an eerie country-folk number such as title track “Leeches of Lore,” that doesn’t even sound like the same band. I’ll give these guys credit for doing omething different, but I’m not really feeling this “thrashfolk” vibe…
(MeteorCity)
