A review of Pandemic “Phantoms”

 

Pandemic

“Phantoms”

Dying Victims Prod. 2024

 

Pandemic is a band with such members, probably directly influencing the music, as guitarists from Gallower and Roadhog. And knowing these gentlemen, and their old-school approach to the creative process, it's rather not hard to guess what kind of music Pandemic is up to. Listening to “Phantoms”, like with the two aforementioned bands, I get the impression that the guys are from a different era. Because, no, of course Pandemin won’t provide you with music other than that which has its roots in the 1980s, at most the 1990s. And it is obvious that this is thrash / speed metal. Ass kicking! These eight tracks are a real time machine, in every respect. First of all, the material was probably recorded on equipment from a few decades ago, because it sounds like classic albums by classic bands, whose names I won't mention here, because they would make a phone book. And the music itself? This is an encyclopedic example, even an interpretation of classic metal dressed in leather and studs. After all, no matter how I listen to it, this is the essence of everything that shaped my musical taste when I was still in elementary school. Poisonous riffing that makes you want to dance, brilliant solos that bring back memories of video clips of guitar icons wiggling their fingers on the neck making your jaw hit the floor, and that old-school feeling... Because there's no denying that Pandemic's recordings probably appeal most strongly to people who grew up on similar music. For there is absolutely nothing innovative on “Phantoms”. Instead, there is the cultivation of tradition in the best possible way. I mentioned the riffs. You won't find blank cards here, there is still something going on, one chord flows seamlessly into another, causing a big banana face. In addition to the classic high-pitched singing, you will hear clean phrases, but also choral singing. The tempo is usually kept at the right level, with an old-school simple drumbeat, but he is mistaken who assumes that the guys do not surprise in this respect as well. The guys on their second album, although set in a drawer with no emergency exit, somehow prove that it is possible to create music that is not just a copy of melodies known and loved. And that's why I like these songs so much. Because they are not just reproducible. And since I miss the music of those years, I swallow Phantom tunes without water. Standing ovations!

- jesusatan