It seems traditional classic Heavy Metal is the order of the day as bands left and right are pumping this stuff out left and right. C.S. is no different, but there is something special about this group. The front man is Michael Grant who was with ONWARD. Guitars are handled by one time DESTINY’S END member Daniel DeLucie and current SINERGY bassist Melanie Sisneros. After hearing this release, all I can say is that these folks truly eat, sleep and breathe old school Metal. This is the real deal and not a sham. “Above Mere Mortals” is a powerhouse of a number. The guitars provide a quick pick me up. While they are simple and catchy, they add an impact by being a little fierce and throw in some melodic doodling that is reminiscent of THIN LIZZY.

Mike sings his little heart out as his lungs go for the epic route. He projects his voice so loudly that it’s impossible to not hear him. The rhythm section of Mel and Craig of drums is bombastic. Neither one of them understand the words “turn it down.” The skins are pounded away mercilessly while the bass obviously adds a nice touch of rhythm. Now, I would have expected to hear a touch of modernism, but no. They keep it in the past like mid 80’s era classic Metal. The only thing that has progressed over time is the production as it provides a crystal clear sound and if this had existed back then more of these bands would have sounded more dangerous.

Galloping riffs and drumming are well documented on “Slaves To The Metal Horde.” Mike continues his way with the low vocal singing style. “Burn With Life” does exactly just that as it is fueled with plenty of energy. By far this is the quickest track on here and that’s good. This is not a trend here, but the real deal. These guys are serious about their heritage in music and it shows as these folks don’t do anything to tweak or modernize their sound. Those of you who refuse to catch up with the times should fall in love with this one and other folks who are faithful to the cause would be wise to dig into this as well.

(Online January 8, 2007)