For NWOBHM fans only.

Italian band Tytus are clearly old-school NWOBHM and the song-writers obvious love of the early eighties Metal boom is evident in the multitude of styles they incorporate into their own sound. There are elements of Iron Maiden, specifically in the melodic guitar soloing, alongside the Metal bite of Judas Priest and the gritty Rock of Saxon.

'Rises' for me though, is a little lacklustre and pales in comparison to the bands it aspires to rub shoulders with. It's a bit like fan fiction, it has the heart and desire and knows all the right things to make it work, but it will always be amateur and a second-rate version of the original. It's not a bad album, it just doesn't step into the light and capture the essence of that genre's sound. They probably borrow too heavily from their influences and the different elements don't always work when mashed-up together. There are bands out there who are replicating NWOBHM in a retro fashion, but with modern twists and production values who make this album sound extremely dated and seemingly lacking creativity in their song-writing.

There are a couple of nice moments shining through, some cool galloping bass lines and soaring melodic guitar soloing, but the songs always feel a mess and there isn't anything that feels totally cohesive to me. So, as I'm listening to the album through, it never connects or hits me. I gave the album as many spins as I could to see if eventually something would grab my attention, but sadly it didn't. I try to look for positives when reviewing so I can be fair in my judgement, but even after repeated spins I found myself struggling to find things I could highlight positively. I struggled with the vocals from the offset, which didn't help, deeply devoted NWOBHM fans may be less bothered as they are the typical Metal, raspy, guttural vocals this style tends to favour, but I just found them off-putting.

For me, 'Rises' is for NWOBHM fans only. It's not an acquired taste but it does need the ears of a true enthusiast to truly appreciate these songs and enjoy this album as a whole. I know there are elements to these songs and their structures that will be enjoyed by those fans, especially those individuals who crave that original sound the pioneers of the genre created in the infancy of this style.

Paul Woodward