...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI...



Pierwszy długogrający album warszawskiego speed metalowego Rascala.
Im szybciej, tym lepiej!!!



..::OPIS::..

Ossuary Records należy się jakaś nagroda za krzewienie w narodzie kultury heavy metalu. Co i rusz zaskakują kolejnym wydawnictwem, udowadniając rodakom, że polska scena nie tylko black i death metalem stoi!

RASCAL, bo o nich, choć może bardziej o ich płycie „Lost Beyond Reason” mowa to kolejny zespół, który łoi muzę aż miło! Na swoim debiutanckim krążku (wcześniej było EP „Headed Towards Destruction”) panowie zaprezentowali pełną ekspresji miksturę speed i heavy metalu z kapitalnymi partiami gitar i porządnym wokalem!

Po krótkim intro w postaci „Approaching the Storm” muzycy rozpędzają się i gnają do przodu, zachowując przy tym odpowiedni poziom chwytliwości muzyki. Jest dynamicznie, ale i melodyjnie a wokalista Kacper Pędziszewski, który pasowałby do Blind Guardian, odnajduje się w takiej stylistyce znakomicie. Potrafi śpiewać z chrypką, w wyższych rejestrach, ale i czystym, nieco niższym głosem. Nie jest też dla niego problemem growl (o tak, growl tego pana jest świetny). Mniej więcej w połowie, po akustycznym przerywniku w postaci „Prelude to Violence” rozpoczyna się nieco mniej speed metalowa cześć płyty. Tutaj wyróżniłbym tytułowy „Lost Beyond Reason” z zapadającym w pamięci refrenem i mniej drapieżnymi wokalami. Wspomniałem o growlach, te pojawiają się w „Conquest” (genialne solo) oraz „Soldiers of Hell”, który pomimo brutalnych wokali jest chyba najbardziej przebojowym fragmentem tego wydawnictwa.

Na koniec crème de la crème. Gitarzyści, To co wyprawiają na tej płycie to mistrzostwo świata. Jestem pod ogromnym wrażeniem partii tego instrumentu, a pomysłów na solówki mogą im pozazdrościć najwięksi w gatunku!

„Lost Beyond Reason” to znakomita muza opatrzona znakomitą okładką! Dawid Boldys, jej autor, wykonał kawał niesamowitej roboty. Całość po prostu na światowym poziomie i koniec!

Piotr Michalski



Finally, finally,finally !!! The first full-length studio album of the Polish Speed/Heavy metallers RASCAL is here to blow our ears. Their previous EP, ''Headed Towards Destruction'', was so fucking hot and heavy, and as I wrote in the review (before 2 years), ''I'm pretty sure that the future is bright for them.'' And fuck yeah, with their newest full-length studio album, ''Lost Beyond Reason'', RASCAL has nothing to fear on their way, and they are here to take our brains and ears with their music! The compositions are very professional and go beyond their previous releases. Powerful speed heavy metal with beautiful refrains, catchy riffs, hot guitar solos, fast technical drumming, and great high-pitched vocals!!

As I can hear and analyze their compositions, the band has worked really hard to produce such fresh heavy metal songs. What can I say? You should (or I would say you must) hear ''Trapped Within the Lightning'' (check the official video!), ''Running Out of Air'' (Killer guitar solo!!!), ''Lost Beyond Reason'' (awesome bass lines together with the drum parts make an epic song), ''Slow Burner'' (pure hot heavy metal with such a killer fast guitar riff), ''Soldiers Of Hell'' (Oh Man!!! This song is so fucking badass!!! I have heard it more than 20 times!!), for sure my favorite song of the album, together with the last song, ''Into the Night''!!!

I'm very pleased with the new album of RASCAL, and I must say that I'm really glad to see young people who play so fucking great with beautiful compositions, and they produced songs that talk to my metal heart. So girls and boys, support RASCAL, support the physical formats, and support record labels like Ossuary Records (Hail my metal brother Mateusz) that keep the metal flag high!! And don't forget to listen to ''Soldiers of Hell'' at maximum volume!!

Steve the Filthy Dog.



A little while ago, I reviewed the EP Headed Towards Destruction by the heavy/speed/power metal band Rascal from Poland, and I said that it would be nice to see the band take their musicianship to a higher level when their first full-length comes out. Well, I guess my prayers have been answered. On November 10th 2023, Rascal released their first full-length album Lost Beyond Reason via Ossuary Records, which will be the topic of this review.

Just like on their previous release, the band has taken the fast and melodic heavy/speed metal approach with their new songs, however this time it seems that they've taken all the key elements in their music a bar higher then what they had previously done. The overall song structure contains the traditional speed and heavy metal riffing, powerful guitar solos with sweep picking, fast drumming with wall breaking double-bass drumming, high pitch vocals, which is the standard formula incorporated by most heavy/speed metal bands. You will still hear the influences of 80's heavy, speed and power metal bands like Judas Priest and Helloween, but with a couple of twists that will be mentioned further in this review. Although there isn't really any stylistic departure from the Headed Towards Destruction EP, the new songs however feel much more energetic and wilder as if they have been injected with an extra dose of speed and steroids with the intention of blowing out your speakers. The song title that perfectly summarizes how much this album has taken a further step is the third track "The Faster the Better", and it even seems like the title was meant to be a subtle hint at the band's approach to songwriting.

The riffs and the solos are much crazier than what they used to be, like the band simply decided to hit the gas in order to go above the limit and exceed any expectation. The best examples that I can give are the thrash metal moments on "Born to Kill" and "Slow Burner", including other bits like the brief harsh growling vocals on "Conquest" and "Soldiers of Hell", the reverse blast beat drumming and black metal-like tremolo picking on the final track "Into the Night", all of which gives these songs more dirt and aggression. Speaking of things going above their limit, even the overall vocal performance is much more grand, especially on the title track "Lost Beyond Reason" where the singing feels quite epic and powerful than on any other song. When observing everything about the overall musical execution to the smallest bit, it's nothing too fancy for some people out there, but I still think that it is quite impressive for such minimal work that's done right. You might be thinking that this is just another typical heavy/speed metal album that doesn't do anything new, but you simply cannot deny the fact that this album has got balls of steel that this subgenre obviously requires in order to fulfil its priority task of sounding heavy. loud and fast. The sound production of this album does immense justice to the entire instrumental and vocal work, and is definitely a step further from the production of Headed Towards Destruction.

So in the end, were my prayers answered for Rascal's new album? Indeed, they were. Lost Beyond Reason did a good job at fulfilling and also exceeding my expectations, proving that it was worth the wait and that it's another great addition among countless heavy/speed metal albums that have been released this year. If you are in the need for some heavy/speed metal action with some unexpected twists, check out Rascal's album Lost Beyond Reason and behold the wild energy that it transcends.

VladimirCokorilo



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Approaching the Storm 01:22
2. Trapped Within the Lightning 04:26
3. The Faster the Better 04:17
4. Running Out of Air 05:47
5. Prelude to Violence 01:05
6. Born to Kill 03:08
7. Lost Beyond Reason 05:33
8. Conquest 03:47
9. Slow Burner 05:20
10. Soldiers of Hell 04:48
11. Into the Night 04:52



..::OBSADA::..

Krystian Grobel - Bass
Krzysztof Kamiński - Drums
Adrian Wiązowski - Guitars
Maciej Zybura - Guitars
Kacper Pędziszewski - Vocals




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P501cn4VWgI



SEED 14:30-23:00.
POLECAM!!!