Acrassicauda

Acrassicauda managed to escape their war-torn homeland with some talent and a hell of a PR hook. This, their debut four-song EP, isn't much different from the work of a zillion young U.S. or European bands; it's the sum of their influences, with a few glimmers of originality here and there. Middle Eastern rhythms and vocal chanting crop up, notably on "Garden of Stones" (which also features a coiled-snake guitar solo from Tony Aziz), and "Massacre" begins with a brief spoken prelude in Arabic. But there's more Metallica and Testament (whose guitarist, Alex Skolnick, produced the record) here than anything else. Vocalist Faisal Talal has a pretty evocative and multi-dimensional voice -- he can shift from clean singing to a clenched-throat roar that recalls Lair of the Minotaur's Steven Rathbone, and the guitar riffs are loaded with '80s thrash crunch. These guys are classicists. - Phil Freeman (All Music Guide)