So, with the aspect of Ronnie James Dio, the different bands before in thought, the cd starts running. Like most of the albums that come out for Mausoleum, the accent lies strongly on heavy metal, as it was known two decades before. The melodies and guitar lines form a very important part of the songs and the vocals seem to become from one big guy you shouldn’t want to play a bad joke to. The first song ‘Storms of Hell’ is a good example of that. It starts with a very distorted and fast guitar loop, followed by the first vocals that are guided by strong riffs. Also the production is quite nice; the sound itself is nice and clear to hear. Finally, the structure of the songs is also quite ok. It may seem a little bit boring as the record continues, the intros, the solo’s, verses, choruses, bridges, you know them right? But, honestly speaking, it wouldn’t be fair towards the band to misjudge them because of this.

There are two points that really bothered me on this cd though. The first thing is the fact that this is a typical band which would be described as ‘quite ok’. There is nothing wrong with it, but that’s it. That is really it. Not one single song on the album sticks in my mind; it’s not refreshing and pretty repetitive.
 

Again, that wouldn’t be a reason for such a score. What really pissed me off is the vocals. Believe me; I have the greatest respect for musicians, especially singers because, in the end, they make a band. But this guy has the characteristic of repeating the last syllables of a sentence so many times. The second song is a good reflection of this. ‘Lost. In another dimensiooon. Lost, in another tihiiime. To our dying world that’s left behihiiiind.’ And this phenomenon goes on, continues and continues. It’s a pity.

The thing is, the things I mentioned above about this cd, the structure of the songs, production etc, they’re really suffering. Because I have so much in my mind that these vocals are so annoying, I cannot see this as a part of the production anymore. Therefore, it’s too much emphasized. 

Well, if you are a fan of old school heavy metal, this cd could create some sort of smile on your face, because it reflects something of your passion. But I cannot believe that a lot of people out there would be a big fan of Phantom-X. Therefore, the material is not refreshing and due to the vocals it’s even to be said that this record is annoying. I wouldn’t turn this one on anymore, a quality I would describe as the single most important for a record.