Air Raid - Fatal Encounter

A blast from the distant past of 2023.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on May 4th 2024)  

I’ve always been a “music first” type of guy when it came to metal music, but it’s a fact that the genre is in no small part defined by its aesthetics, especially when it comes to the musicians’ appearance and the album art. Air Raid is no exception to this rule, and they’re probably among the most committed I’ve seen in the NWOTHM scene, with the band members being dressed in uncomfortably tight leather outfits and the artwork of today’s subject, Fatal Encounter being steeped in late 70s-early 80s chrome sci-fi nostalgia. Unsurprisingly, this sets some expectations as to what awaits the moment you press play, something that the group is more than happy to deliver on.
Air Raid’s bread and butter on their fourth full-length is something that has defined the modern Swedish heavy metal scene, that being straightforward and speedy tunes with an emphasis on catchy vocal lines and melodies, of which there is no shortage of here. The first half is relentlessly fun, with earworms like “Thunderblood”, with its blistering gallop and sweeping solos, as well as the more melancholic and synth-tinged “In Solitude” making sure things start off on the right foot. It’s a style that one can get a lot of mileage out of when it’s executed correctly, and barring the fact that the songs here feel a smidgen on the long side, the band pulls it off successfully.
Problem is, that is mostly confined within the first half. Following the regrettably short “Sinfonia” interlude, the band is seemingly running on fumes. On “Let the Kingdom Burn”, they try their hand at a power ballad that despite some thundering passages ends up feeling lethargic, whereas “One By One” is saved by its brevity, being a scorcher with some glorious duelling guitar lines. There’s also the goofy cover of “Pegasus Fantasy”, the second cover here following the wholly unengaging “See the Light” by Trazy. The former thankfully brings the energy seen in the beginning, helping end things on a relatively high note. But that doesn’t quite alleviate the fact that things just don’t hit as hard after that interlude, despite some really cool moments being found in them, as seen on “Edge of a Dream”, where a walking bassline is accompanied by some clean reverberated guitars. Add to that that the songs tend to be north of the 4-minute mark, and you’ve a recipe for a short album that still manages to drag.
That being said, the production helps breathe some life in Fatal Encounter’s less engaging moments, with its delightfully vintage sound, its nostalgia and warmth making it a good pick for a sunny day. The guitars are bright and full of spunk, and the rhythm section sounds appropriately punchy, especially when it comes to the low end, where the bass and kick drums prop the gallops and shreddy leadwork up.
On the whole though, a good sound job can’t make compositions more engaging, leading to Fatal Encounter being the equivalent of a baby with a really big head. Sure, it tries to stand up and walk, even run at times, but the fact that it’s so top heavy makes it trip and fall a lot. Though unlike seeing a baby fall over, it doesn’t inspire a laugh, rather a sigh of disappointment, because you can just tell that the potential presented here was actually well realised, just not across the board. The vibe is there, as were the tunes, it’s just that Air Raid fired on all cylinders for 4 songs (interlude and covers notwithstanding), and operated at 60% for the other 2. They very much have it in them, and I can only hope that they’ll be able to knock it out of the park in the future, similar to how they did in the past.
Highlights: Thunderblood, In Solitude, One By One

Rating: 64%

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more