Raise those damn horns and show some appreciation!
Attention metal heads! Panic Cell are back with their third album, “Fire It Up” - raise those damn horns and show some appreciation!
“Fire It Up” is a powerhouse album from start to finish. It features some tastily technical riffage and goosebump-inducing growling, the guys are looking to continue the high they’ve experienced since the releases of their first two albums, “Bitter Part of Me” and “What Doesn’t Kill Us” respectively.
Kicking the album off is ‘Burden Inside’, a brutal attack on the senses that will leave you dying for more. Following track ‘Unbroken’ is slightly disappointing in contrast, but fear not, ‘Lie to Me’ with its bold rhythms brings back the thunder. The storm increases in power for the maelstrom that is ‘Splitting Skulls’, with its mind-blowing riffs and galloping bass-line.
‘To Die for Love’ calms things slightly, but still manages to wow the listener with a passionate instrumental - if it doesn’t leave you speechless, I don’t know what will! ‘Jaded’ follows, again with beautiful soaring guitar melodies and great vocals. It’s interesting in places and definitely one of my favourite tracks of the album. ‘Down To the Next Time’ starts serenely with a beautiful guitar melody, but soon builds and finally explodes into Panic Cell’s unique brand of metal, the mix of power and serenity continuing through to following tracks ‘Black Juice’ and ‘Right Here Waiting’.
Penultimate track ‘Forever’ breaks the cycle of powerful metal marathons, instead starting with an atmospheric chant, darkness slowly shrouding the listener as the song builds, finally climaxing in an electrifying bout of guitar shredding. On top of this, the vocal contribution on this track is particularly fierce!
Surprisingly, final track ‘To Die for Lust’ starts slowly and softly with acoustic guitars and gentle vocals but in no time at all, reverts to true Panic Cell style, finishing the album as powerfully as it started.
There are some very obvious American metal influences on “Fire It Up” (not that I’m going to be so bold as to name names), but that in no way detracts from what is a hell of a good album.
With extensive touring under their belts with the likes of Black Label Society and Disturbed, Panic Cell have quickly made a big name for themselves; some may even class them as one of the top heavy metal bands in the UK at this moment in time and I’m inclined to agree!
To find out more about Panic Cell, check out their website or .