Music Review: Tattoo The Devil - "The Descent EP"

The Chicago music scene is so alive with different styles and sounds. You will never grow tired of discovering new bands and new styles in this city. Some bands will blow your mind with creativity and passion, where some will just plain bore you to tears. A new band called Tattoo The Devil has caught my attention in a big way! Being a music lover I'll listen to almost anything if I find it appealing to the ears. And TTD are not only appealing to the ears, but they also excite the senses with their brand of progressive metal.

The bands latest release, the "Decent EP", is a 3 song taste of what to expect from their upcoming full length due later in the year. The music is brilliant and captivating, played with fierce intensity and drive. If you like Euro metal, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, prog metal or power metal, this band has a little bit of all that rolled into a sound all their own. The opening track "The Decent" is riff heavy and melodic with beautifully layered vocals. It starts out hard then goes into a piano and string based mid section that is both gothic and medieval. But at the same time the song never loses it's heavyness. They put a new spin on an old style of music with powerful playing and lyrics that send the imagination into overdrive.

This talented sextet, Lance Ferrel (vocals), Christopher "Dizzy" Lee (guitar/backing vocals), Dominick Camillo (guitar), Mario Camillo (bass), Chris King (drums) and Zak Auble (keyboards), bring a different flavor to each song. These gentlemen are true musicians in the truest sense of the word. "Diegos Tango" has a hearty back beat, shredding guitar leads and an Italian flamenco feel that just gels so well together, but maintains it's metal credibility. The EP closes with "The Darkest Seed", with it's chugging guitars and melodic falsetto vocals, it;'s a great way to close out a killer EP. But as great as this EP is, it leaves this listener wanting more. Sometimes 3 songs are just not enough. But if the full length is half as good as this EP, I think the wait will be well worth it.

You'll be hard pressed to find another metal band with so much influence and talent wrapped into one tight package. The songs are well written and played and the choruses will have you singing along until your vocal chords hurt. If this band were around back in the mid-late 80's they would have been HUGE! But with the underground metal scene still alive, I see no reason why Tattoo The Devil can't be the next big metal band to come out of the Midwest.

4 ½ / 5 stars