All the fans of the resurrection of the so called traditional heavy metal are surely familiar with Cauldron. The Canadian trio fits right into the league of such bands as Enforcer, White Wizzard, Monument etc. and it has managed to curve a remarkable path over the last ten years. Truth be told here; after the superb debut of “Chained To The Nite”, Cauldron hasn’t succeeded in delivering albums of the same caliber or quality level (if you prefer). The result is nothing less than a stagnant career that retains a loyal yet small fan base in contrast with their brothers in arms Enforcer whose popularity steadily rises.
The first thing that catches your eye on the new Cauldron record is the stark yet mystical and mesmerizing cover sleeve which suits perfectly with the sinister and (why not) melancholic mood of “In Ruin”. Jason Decay’s voice is of limited ability, the overall performance doesn’t meet our expectation and the production leaves much to be desired thus giving you the impression that the band pretentiously wants to capture an underground raw feeling. As for the musical aspect per se, there are no vast differences here as the early NWOBHM style meets once again the 80s US metal sound but again the problem lies in the absence of a healthy dose of inspiration.
I am sure that all the aficionados of the genre will buy and possibly enjoy “In Ruin”. As for the others…
Highlight: The European distributor is High Roller so we should expect a vinyl edition, too.
