CoC : Scala Mercalli - My Daemons : Review

Scala Mercalli - _My Daemons_
by: Jackie Smit (4 out of 5)

Aaaah, the early days of discovering met-aaaaaal... If you got into heavy music at an early age and were anything like me, chances are that you will recall several hormone-driven afternoons spent in the confines of your room, blasting the Iron Maiden, WASP, Dio and Judas Priest C-90 copies at ear-splitting volume, belting out odes to death and destruction into anything resembling a microphone like you were Bruce Dickinson in his last ever stage performance. Hearing Scala Mercalli's version of "Be Quick or Be Dead" on their second official demo, I am reminded of good days gone by, and only adds to my impression that this Italian five-piece are a fairly accurate incarnation of the band that every young male metalhead in his formative years wished he could start. As such, this is hardly the most inventive stuff you're likely to hear anytime soon; it is unashamed in its love of metal's earliest traditions to the point of being derivative. However, with just enough technical proficiency to make songs like "Day of Fighter" and "Banshee's Whisper" rock like the hard-nosed sons of bitches they are, there's something undeniably special about this band. In a world of several hundred shitty power metal bands, Scala Mercalli can rest easy in the knowledge that they most definitely are not one of them.

Contact: http://www.scalamercalli.com

(article published 31/5/2004)