Tantrum – No Place For The Damned

Tantrum
No Place For The Damned
Out: August 30^th, 2024
Playing time: 57:18

Tantrum, a Glasgow-based Old-School Metal band, has been delivering powerful performances with their classic guitar-driven riffs and driving rhythms since 2014.

This quote from the press release is a clear statement. But the band is no longer what it once was. There are obviously no musicians left from the original line-up. This means that all of the two albums, three EPs and various singles released to date have had to be recorded with varying line-ups. The current line-up was only established in the twenties. Let’s hear how this has affected the quality of the third album “No Place For The Damned”.

After some brief introductory words, the Scots get off to a powerful start with “Manifest Destiny – Trinity Pt I”. This song is the first part of the “Trinity” trilogy, which is spread across the album. Classic riff-driven, Melodic Heavy Metal. With excellent guitar solos. Singer Mark Reid can fully convince with his clear voice, but also with some screams. “Minotaur” is introduced by a short drum passage. The drums also provide a high number of beats later on. A catchy chorus invites you to sing along. And the tendency towards strong guitar solos continues. At first, “WAIL” has a whirring sound. But soon the guitar riffs and drums provide metallic heaviness. A very rhythmic song. And it also has a sing-along chorus. Unusually, “Deepest Line” starts with Industrial borrowings. But later, hard riffs dominate here too. The tempo is slowed down a little. A mid-tempo rocker. “Hellbound Planet – Trinity Pt II” is the second song in the aforementioned trilogy. And here the hard riffs are really blasted out. It makes you involuntarily bang your head. A headbanger that is sure to create a great atmosphere live. A great Power Metal anthem follows with “The Darkest Of Times”. Characterised by the interplay of the twin guitars. On the other hand, “Internal Bleeding” really gets going again. A slight thrash influence can be heard in places. But for the most part, beautiful melodies take centre stage. The riff monster “Scarred” then tends towards Speed Metal. A little Manowar feeling shimmers through in “The Judge”. However, with a little less bombast and a little more heaviness than the “Warriors of Trve Metal”. “Traveller – Trinity Pt III” concludes the “Trinity” trilogy. Once again, hard and fast riffs dominate. Tantrum saved the best for last. “The Pit And The Pendulum” is a Heavy Metal interpretation of a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The intro features a storm accompanied by acoustic guitars. As in the opener, you first hear some spoken words. After the calm introduction, the song develops into a great Epic Metal anthem.

With “No Place For The Damned”, Tantrum have released a magnificent Metal piece. Even if categorisation is often extremely arbitrary, the sound reminds me of the great days of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The Scots offer a full Metal package for almost an hour. I’d like more of that, much more!

Tantrum – The Darkest Of Times: https://youtu.be/N2n7Mw1GhGw?si=XW_C-bHoJefrbqJ6

Lineup:

Mark Reid – Vocals
Baz Fitzsimmons – Guitars
Micah Snow – Guitars
Chris Horne – Bass
Mark Riches – Drums

Track list:

• Manifest Destiny – Trinity Pt I
• Minotaur
• W.A.I.L.
• Deepest Line
• Hellbound Planet – Trinity Pt II
• The Darkest Of Times
• Internal Bleeding
• Scarred
• The Judge
• Traveller – Trinity Pt III
• The Pit And The Pendulum