The Summoning
The first thought listening to Glamour of the Kills’ anticipated debut is that they have a definite scene to fit into nicely. The second is that, based on The Summoning, they can reach the heights of the likes of Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold with a bit of fine-tuning and one or two more albums this consistent. The Summoning is fantastically produced, and proves that Glamour of the Kill have the talent to take on metalcore’s best bands. It won’t happen straight away, as it’s all a bit too clean-cut to make a huge impact. However, the album shows that band have what it takes, and should be huge by the time album number two is released. The riffs are brilliant, and the solos throughout the album are great. Vocally, this is typical contemporary metal, which is where Glamour of the Kill need to differentiate themselves. At the moment, they’re just a very good band doing the same sort of thing as Bullet For My Valentine. Maybe it’s that the vocals are a bit too clean, but Glamour of the Kill need a little something to make them seem special. Musically, they’re tight and excellent at what they do. It’s not surprising that ‘Feeling Alive’ has got some airplay on Kerrang!, because this is the sound of a band who know each other very well. It’s consistent and well-crafted. They’re clearly diverse in their talents and musicians and songwriters too, as ‘Malevolent Reign’ shows. A tender acoustic track, it’s disappointing that this acts as a very short interlude, because this sounds like it could’ve been an interesting for the band to explore to add another layer of depth to their music. The final, title track is a fantastic way to close the album, with an chilled start before launching into a heavy riff. The solo that fades out the track is a nice way to end The Summoning, and the song as a whole shows what the band can do. The Summoning, when all is said and done, feels like a great debut, but the interesting point is where Glamour of the Kill go from here. This debut will definitely continue to establish their growing fan-base, but the next album needs to make their sound a bit more diverse, to make sure a clearly talented band doesn’t fade early. Female First - Alistair McGeorge