It could have been great
Debut release from this Wolverhampton four-piece, and it can be summed up in two words...flawed gem.
I love the cover of this album. A firing squad has taken aim and is waiting for the general to lower his handkerchief, whilst the intended victim sits blindfolded. Of course it's an old painting converted to an off sepia texture and not something that looks extremely brutal and distasteful.
'Hit the Dirt' blasts off in fine style with 'Neo Testament'. It's a slab of Judas Priest influenced metal with a riff so infectious you wonder why nobody has thought of it before. I'll get straight to the point because 'Neo Testament' is a brilliant example of why I think this album is a flawed gem. The music is nothing short of brilliant. It's catchy, infectious and very metal. I can see it bringing the roof down on many a venue, especially this opening cut's break down riff at the 3:08 mark. The problem with the song, and of the album as a whole, is the vocals. Wes chooses to growl and shout over this glorious music killing any effect it had stone dead. It's not even a likeable growl like Chuck Billy or Rob Flynn. It's a growl that seems forced because that's what the metal scene is like at the moment. For myself the music doesn't need it, and deserves more respect from a vocal point of view. The band add a clean vocal over the chorus which is truly dreadful and out of tune, yet so low down in the mix that it sounds like there's another song playing in the back ground.
The title track 'Hit the Dirt' would be fucking brilliant if it wasn't for Wes's growling. The chorus is strained and unconvincing, but yet again the music is top draw. 'Vengeance is Mine' seems to sound like a different recording session as it differs slightly in an aural capacity from the three tracks that preceded it. The vocals on this track are much better because they don't seem to have that 'put on' growl, instead Wes gives it the Rob Flynn treatment and it comes across much better, again the music is a mark of quality.
Don't be fooled by their name 'Speed Theory.' These guys are no Dragonforce clones, instead they adopt a great variation in their music utilising subtle introductions for the tracks 'TIC' and 'Cancer'. Each song has an individual identity without sounding out of place, even the funky beginnings of 'Awakening' soon turn into a two minute thrash-a-thon.
The ideas are all here but I think Speed Theory need to pin down their style. At the moment you can throw them in the metal-core category but I think they're better than that. The vocals in particular drag this release down into an also-ran which is criminal because their riffage is great. I think with a little more TLC and a few metal anthems under their belt, we could be looking at Britain's answer to Shadows Fall. A band to catch when they come round.