STEEL PROPHET -

STEEL PROPHET - BOOK OF THE DEAD - NUCLEAR BLAST
Book of the Dead? The Necronomicon? Screams of crunchy brutality slash the air as satanic howls ravage the world into...well, not exactly. US heavy metal men Steel Prophet and their string of half a dozen releases are a heavy metal entity that, while listenable, is far from perfect. It has to be made clear that there is talent and experience at work here and this by no means is a bad release per se. Having said that, there are quite a few inconsistencies here. While the vocals work most of the time, they have their ups and downs. Then there is the redundant cliche of a title like When Six Was Nine, the borrowed phrasing and main riff of Tragic Flaws (Jacob's Dream), very inspired guitaring of Escaped (Iron Maiden) and the overall feeling that there is one too many Sacred Blade and Fates Warning riffs at work on Book of the Dead to make this a wholesome metal experience. As said before it's not bad at all; it's just that it's inconsistent and a little borrowed. - Ali "The Metallian"

STEEL PROPHET - UNSEEN - NUCLEAR BLAST
Armed with positive messages during the course of its 50+ minutes and adorned with a beautiful cover, Unseen could have been viewed as a good album. The album starts off interestingly enough with Truth. The song has a strong sense of structure and a good sound. Songs like this and One Way Out, which delivers a catchy refrain, invite comparisons to Jacob's Dream, Iron Maiden, Mystic Force and Lizzy Borden. The instrumental Bolero, for instance, is pure Maiden circa 1981. Unhappily though there are several imperfections tagging along. Mingling with the occasional interesting melody, are several songs which fail to go anywhere. Softer slow songs like Magenta, which comes close to Slaughter ballad territory, the downright deliberately weak guitar harmony on Martyred's and the intro to Killer's Confession whose melody is straight out of the House Of The Rising Sun's school of acoustic guitar are notable examples. Steel Prophet is marketable to fans of melodic US metal. Alas, the uneven nature of the material will hinder the quintet from becoming a paragon for that sound. Note the already-publicized departure of singer Rick Mythiasin to New Eden and Taraxacum following personality clashes between the singer and band leader Steve Kachinsky.