Cauldron - Tomorrow's Lost

A new traditional heavy metal resurgence is blooming and erupting voluptuously, and it's great. In a short deal of time, we got tons of fresh acts, mostly good and augmenting, and plague is on a wild surge. Sweden, Canada and the States are easily the flag-bearers in the rampage, each deliberately exposing bands in immense quality and quantity, and though Canada has been more notorious for its surgical bulk of blackened bombastic caveman and vociferous gurgle-deliverers, its still has a solid traditional heavy metal scene, and Cauldron has got to be one of the leaders of national pack of wolves. The band unleashed two consecutive full-length albums that embrace that same semi-melancholic, ball-out assault fashion of heavy metal, and on the third release, signing to modern heavy metal fodder Earache Records, they've once again succeeded in delivering the blatant and the vivacious; good news for the band's drooling fans.

Cauldron really doesn't dive much deep when it comes to penning the compositions. I mean, even though I quite enjoyed the album in general, there's always that brooding simplicity just sitting there, not sure if it should enter the derby or not, and that kind of lack of intricacy makes me feels uncertain at times, as if waiting for an explosion that's never gonna actually come. Otherwise, the whole album is in the works. They've practically mechanized their formula, projecting it the most robust way possible, and they've even started to snatch the sprinkles out from the old cookie box and start decorating the mixture. For people who are not acquainted with Cauldron's sound, let me explain briefly: the band stitches up numerous NWOBHM influences with a few segments of Mercyful Fate to boast the melancholia, and then some Maiden to keep things fresh and juicy. I actually kind of liked the limitations of extreme ecstatic energy, because the band has a ponderous base structure provided by a massive, bulbous hunk of a guitar tone, so the riffs almost sound oppressive, something like you average heavy/doom album...

There are, of course, given that the album has its fair share of dynamics, some faster hooks like ''Burning Fortune'' which shimmer with the dreary output of the chords and brisker take on the vocals. The solos are fairly impressive too; casual and crisp and they don't really break the law by exploding amid the tightly mashed doom-paced chords, more points for the band. John Decay has an interesting vocal touch, something that hovers around epic and doomy, resembling Helloween or even John Arch of Fates Warning at best. ''Tomorrow's Lost'', in total, may not be what the fans are quite expecting perhaps, thanks to the deep channeling of doom n' gloom, but with it's traditional cunning it certainly makes for a sweet treat - don't you skip this.

Highlights:
Tomorrow's Lost
Summoned To Succumb
Born To Struggle 
Burning Fortune

Rating: 85%