Parthian Shot - Parthian Shot

Here we have another great example of European musicians coming together to make classic sounding heavy metal with a modern flare. To be honest I am becoming overwhelmed by the numerous global acts putting out this similar style of metal music. Parthian Shot is currently a five piece group of metal dudes from Athens, Greece. The band has been around since 2003, but has primarily maintained notoriety through the local Greek metal scene. Globally I believe Parthian Shot is still trying to make their way up the ladder. This four song EP that they have recently released might be the catalyst which gives them more global exposure. Still I believe an EP gives the listener just a taste of what a band is really capable of musically unless that band has already achieved a high standing within the metal community. Personally I hear four decent metal tracks that I am neither disappointed with nor excessively enthusiastic about.

The first track on this EP, Placebo, sets the musical tone with a common heavy metal style guitar riff. Instead of coming up with dynamic complex rhythms Parthian Shot tends to make simple catchy metal rhythms. Their singer has a great voice and I like his presentation of the song’s lyrics. Not only can I understand what he is saying, but I am able to hear the emotional tone in his vocals. The next song Old Enough I think should have been the opening track. I personally prefer this opening guitar riff to Placebo’s. The music on this song is definitely mellower than the first song, but can build up to create fierce sounding parts which allow for variation. Also, the lead guitar parts on Old Enough sound ripping. The playing is fluid with an emphasis on certain notes to stand out from the main rhythm. Song number three Stolen-Back Life threw me off guard. Instead of sounding like a modern metal band Parthian Shot makes a classic metal sounding track. The way the song’s verses and guitar parts are structured remind me of a cross between White Snake and Dream Theater. At one point in the song they are messing around with different timings and coming up with some very progressive sounding material. Then the music takes on a bluesy hard rock approach. I can’t complain too much because I do like White Snake and Dream Theater. However, I never thought about blending the two styles of music. Wrapping up the album is the song ControVersus. Out of all the songs on this album I believe it is the most technical and highly polished sounding track. Each musician steps up their game and delivers a stellar performance to finish off this four song EP.

Parthian Shot is a difficult band to pin down categorically. I will say for four songs each offers the listeners something to take away. People who may not find the main guitar riff on one song to be captivating can change their opinion on the next song. Really the production and overall sound on each song stays the same to where the listener can tell they are listening to a Parthian Shot song. I think these guys are worth checking out, but unfortunately there are numerous metal bands who keep following the generic metal blue print. Throw in some more innovation I believe Parthian Shot can become a tremendous sounding metal band. When there is a full length album maybe we can see what these Greek metal guys are really capable of creating.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/lsWgxmdU8cg[/embed]

 

  1. Placebo
  2. Old Enough
  3. Stolen-Back Life
  4. ControVersus


Self released
Reviewer: twansibon
Feb 7, 2013

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