Progressive Power Metal from the USA that sounds familiar, yet “different”.
The band hails from the Northeast part of the States, but their sound is rooted deeply in the classic sounds of European Metal. If you’re into that scene you’re going to appreciate these guys and their efforts. For me personally I’m thrilled to hear Melodic Metal coming from my home country.
I mentioned earlier they had something “different” going on. I think most of that is due to the keyboards of Marc Muchnik, he adds some “ambience” to the songs that I havn’t quite heard before. I’m happy about this btw, it helps separate them from the European crowd where the bands all start sounding a little too similar.
But it’s more than just the keyboards, their songs are written a little more different, they don’t rely solely on the chorus, they’re good storytellers. Alex Repetti has magnificent range and really brings the lyrics to life.
Musically the band as a whole are very solid, you have to be to be doing this style of Progressive Metal. Guitarist Lou Mavs really adds a lot to the mix as well, he’s rarely taking a “break” during the song, there’s always something going on, he’s superfast and he and Muchnik doing some nice melodic work together. Bassist George Dimitri and drummer Wayne Noon also complement each other and keep the time to perfection.
As the album progresses it seems to get heavier and more intense. The single “In The Red” leans into a more accessible and borderline AOR vibe (just heavier and faster). By the time we get to “Wide Awake In Screamland”, “Attachment Unavailable” and “#8” you’re in for a heavier assault of pure Metal. Repetti get’s more aggressive with the vocals too on these tracks.
There’s a cover track at the end by Ghost “Square Hammer” that rounds out the album, they do a great job with it too, nice rendition.
This is their debut full length album, they’ve done some singles in the past, but the band is relatively new, which really makes the album more impressive. I’m giving this a very positive 7.5 out of 10 “Flaming Fists”. The only thing that holds it back are the two short instrumentals/introductions and the cover tune that limit the amount of original full songs. The songs do run a little longer than normal so you’re technically getting the same amount of music though. The production was pretty good but could have been a little better in some places. I’m sure budget had more to do than anything. Bottom line, it’s a very good album that offers something new to the genre, I’m really looking forward to hearing their future endeavors.
Alex Repetti – Vocals, Guitar (Infinite Spectrum / Tension Rising)
Lou Mavs – Guitar, Vocals
George Dimitri – Bass (Timeless Haunt)
Marc Muchnik – Keyboards (The Nightmare Stage)
Wayne Noon – Drums (Project Resurrect / Ex-Phoenix Reign)
Severed Angel official website
Severed Angel official Facebook page
Severed Angel official Instagram page
Severed Angel official YouTube channel
Biography:
Severed Angel is a metal band from the Northeastern United States (NY and PA) forged to unleash a sonic assault of melodic heavy metal upon the masses.
In 2018, drummer Wayne Noon started the Rat Salad Review network to promote his favorite bands and have fun with a podcast that provides insight to the metal bands that the mainstream media are unaware of. Some of those bands included Timeless Haunt (PA), The Nightmare Stage (NY), Infinite Spectrum (NY), and Tension Rising (NY).
As the original drummer for Phoenix Reign, a NYC based power metal band, they released an album called “Destination Unknown,” and toured around the tri-state area. Their final show was at the Gramercy Theater in NYC opening for international recording artists Epica.
In 2019, guitarist Lou Mavs started his podcast (Music Is Life Podcast) discussing his opinions and experience as a musician. Wayne and Lou were friends from the time Phoenix Reign was playing shows in Lou’s native Queens, NY, and Wayne asked Lou if his podcast would join Rat Salad Review as a show on the network, to which he did.
In late 2020, Wayne was preparing the release of his new band Project Resurrect. It was around that time that the music world suffered the loss of Edward Van Halen. Lou and Wayne suggested that they cover a Van Halen song as a tribute to Eddie, and enlisted the services of Timeless Haunt bassist George Dimitri and Thrash Or Die/Combat vocalist Ralph Viera. The cover was released to positive responses. 2021 saw the release of Project Resurrect’s “False Reality” CD and Rat Salad Review & Friends’ “Cover Series, Part 1” EP.
In early 2022, Wayne suggested forming a new original band with Lou, George, The Nightmare Stage keyboardist Marc Muchnik, and Infinite Spectrum bassist/songwriter Alex Repetti (also of Tension Rising and Project SEAR), Lou provided an original demo written 12 years ago called “Dogs of War,” which was written as entrance music for his cousin – MMA fighter Robby Plotkin (currently a US Army Ranger). Wayne thought the song was perfect for this new project and arranged a new version of it, to which Marc and Alex wrote lyrics, and Lou re-recorded his parts. Upon completion of the song, it was official – Severed Angel was born.
Their debut CD was written, recorded, mixed and mastered within 3 months. In that time, Severed Angel started working on more material, many of which were released as singles: “A Fate Worse Than Death,” “Run and Hyde,” “Bump In The Night,” and “Mt. Cyanide.” Their self-titled debut CD will be released worldwide on May 2, 2023 via Sliptrick Records.
