Matt Harding
Steel Armada
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Oh yeah! If you like aggressive and domineering guitar, you'll immediately take a liking to Matt Harding's latest tape. Matt is the founder, guitarist and vocalist of Apostle, a Jacksonville, Florida-based trio that recorded in JPUSA's Tone Zone studios and appeared on the "East Coast Metal" album a few years ago. Matt's lost none of his speed and attacking approach to the guitar. He starts things off with "Armor of Light." His high-pitched voice at times matches some of the high notes he's hitting on this one. "Kingdom Come" picks up next with a little Southern rock and R&B sass to it. By "Alive and Well," side one begins to bog down with vocal production and somewhat dated blunt-between-the-eyes delivery. One fault holding this tape back is the fact that it's just plain brutal--but the old-fashioned way. Today bands are wowing metalheads with speed, speed and more speed or with groovin' bluesy Zeppelin riffs. Harding is hitting the audience with blunt heaviness and wowie guitar playing. It's heavy 'n' rockin', yet a couple years out of sync with the "musical elite" of today. The title track is a wild instrumental, mixing a plodding rhythm line with fiery scales and wails and "The Light" finds the rhythm section in full crunch. "Sparks" finds the band in a good groove, yet still leaves lots of room for Matt's guitar to sing the verses rather than his voice. To get ahold of this molten tape, send $3 to: 4567 Blount Ave, Jacksonville FL 32810.