But, listening to Duel you are in for a surprise. These guys go way beyond the doom and gloom of the Brum metal fathers, actually coming from Austin, Texas makes them exposed to a variety of music styles, although they insist on the ‘70s. Their inspiration and big range of influences manage to deliver an interesting album that the listener should enjoy. It’s no accident that two of the members played with the exquisite Scorpion Child, who gave us only two albums. For Duel this is their fourth.
The voice reminded me of Eric Bloom, while if you think of Blue Oyster Cult while listening to some of the songs I won’t get you wrong. The truth is that the album opener sounds a bit like Uriah Heep, even though there are no keyboards. In general, it seems that Duel don’t need a safety zone and they don’t hesitate to add touches of heavy metal, as well as psychedelia in their great compositions.
During the 39 minutes of the album they manage to unfold their undoubted talent. The riffs are catchy and drive the melodies in the compositions, while the old school effects and distortion are paying a tribute to the decade of reference on every possible occasion. The solos are very impressive and I am sure that won’t go down unnoticed.
