Squealer – Insanity

Squealer

‘Insanity’

Pride & Joy Music

Thrash/Power Metal

FFO: Aethra, Tarantula, Grave Digger, Helloween

Squealer have been hammering away at the heavy metal scene for nigh on forty years now, but more recently, the band have resurged in creative prowess and now Squealer are poised to deliver the follow up to their warmly received 2018 album with ‘Insanity’.

                Fans of ‘Behind Closed Doors’ will be pleased to know that ‘Insanity’ follows on almost exactly where the previous album left off. Therefore, what the listener gets here are luscious heavy metal tones that take a running leap from a thrash metal blueprint and add a touch of hummable power metal through the vocals of Sebastian Werner who manages to swing between a higher register and a harsher lower one with ease. Furthermore, this album is boosted by the guest appearances from Roland Grapow, Bernhard Weiss and Zak Stevens who tweak these performances with some German engineering on tracks such as ‘Black Rain’ and ‘Low-Flying Brains’. However, there are points with ‘Insanity’ where the album feels rather weak and lacklustre, feeling like there is just something ever so slightly amiss.

                There are some nice ideas here that haven’t been executed as well as they could have and ultimately, this may be down to a ‘meh’ production. While ‘Insanity’ might be a little bit more than average at best, there are some decent tunes here that show Squealer are far from done or running out of steam.

Adam McCann