Stuttering start - A review of Vehemon's Children of Heavy Metal

Vehemon is a Vietnamese heavy metal quartet with occasional hard rock and doom metal influences that has just released its first full length record. However, the seven short tunes with a timid total running time of twenty-eight minutes would rather qualify as an extended play.

What matters though is the quality and not the quantity. Sadly, the newcomers can't quite convince in that department either. The material sounds as if it could have been released at least thirty-five years ago. Imagine a low budget version of Motörhead and Saxon and you might have an idea of what this release sounds like.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing if the material is executed with great quality. However, that mostly isn't the case either. The guitar riffs are tight but sound exchangeable, repetitive and like heavy metal tropes by the numbers. The occasional melodic solos are however rather decent. The rhythm section often plods along without leaving any deeper impression. The disharmonious raw vocals sounds as if the singer had tried to fight a rough could with too much alcohol. The occasional high-pitched screams sound unintentionally amusing and make me think of a furious wolf whom someone stepped on the tail. The singer can however convince in the few clean vocal parts. In the end, the vocals sound rather unique and variable which can't be said about the instrumental work.

Children of Heavy Metal isn't a bad release and the band certainly knows its heavy metal roots in a country that hasn't displayed any memorable metal bands. Some tunes like the rhythmic ''Built to Rock'' or the fast ''Kill the Core'' are actually solid if old-fashioned. The tunes might sound even more energetic in concert. The first steps are however always rough and one can only wish the band well to carry on promoting a genuine heavy metal spirit in its home country. Nevertheless, the group's debut record is overall a rather dull affair and makes me feel as if I had been hit by a chair and fallen into deep slumber.

Final rating: 55%