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The debut release from Barrow in Furness based five piece Vital Signs betrays many influences from punk and glam to the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal all of which adds up to an excellent collection of songs. The recordings are a little rough and ready but this just ups the live, urgent feel of the songs.
The first two tracks, 'Life & Death Of A Martyr' and 'A Life In Jeans' wouldn't sound out of place on Iron Maiden's debut album. The vocals are a cross between the throatiness of Paul Di Anno and the high lazy drawl of Brian Molko. Best of all is the guitar soloing. Like Maiden they use twin leads, the solos build intelligently and are played with much assurance and skill; the riffs have that magical memorable quality that much modern metal fails to provide.
Third track 'End To Begin' again references old school metal particularly in its lyrical content (apocalypse, death, destruction etc) and there is nothing wrong with that though this is probably the weakest track here, the playing isn't as tight as it could be and the lyrics are a bit cliched but it is rescued by a great solo and great vocals.
Final song 'Red Hot (Wa - hey !) could probably do without the 'wa - hey' bit but it is probably their most adventurous song. Whereas the previous songs were guitar - heavy, here the singing takes the lead role. A lot of consideration has been given as to how the words flow and sound, the echo used sparingly.
All in all an impressive set of songs from a young band who aren't afraid to look to the past for inspiration. Maybe one for a future Corrupted night ?
Johnny Asshole.