Heed - The Call

*=Staff's pick	Heed Hades I Am Alive Last Drop Of Blood* Ashes Enemy* Salvation Tears Of Prodigy (Fallen Angel)* The Other Side* Hypnosis Moments The Permanent End Celebration* Nothing

Genre	Heavy Metal	Daniel Heiman	Vocals
Tracks	12	Fredrik Olsson	Guitar
Runningtime	49 Min.	Martin Andersson	Guitar
Label	Metal Heaven	Tommy Larsson	Bass
Release	10 June 2006	Ufuk Demir	Drums
Country	Sweden	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	Lost Horizon, Nocturnal Rites

For those of you who have had a cave as your postal address for the last year I can shortly brief you that Heed was formed in 2004 when the highly acclaimed vocalist Daniel Heiman and guitarist Fredrik Olsson decided to leave Lost Horizon which released two records that both made great impact in the metal community. After a couple of demos Heed recorded their debut album in 2005 and at the end of the year it was released in Japan. It took some time but finally it is our turn to get hold of this highly anticipated release.

I have listened to The Call so much that I have lost count and it's safe to say that I know the record by now. Comparisons with Lost Horizon are unavoidable due to the fact that Daniel's strong identity as a singer has coloured both of the bands. Heed is a bit more melodic, straight to the point and heavy than Lost Horizon though. Without sounding the same the closest comparison I can come up with is Nocturnal Rites.

The album is very even and the lack of fillers is evident but there are a couple of tracks that really stand out from the rest. Last Drop Of Blood and Tears Of Prodigy (Fallen Angel) are unarguably the strongest cuts of this release with heavy guitar work and fantastic vocal melodies. In fact, this is an incredible strong effort that reaches my high expectations with ease but there are a few flaws that are holding a higher grade back. First and foremost I don't like the production, mainly regarding the drum sound. The sound should also in my opinion be much more dynamic because I think it lacks depth. Secondly, the diversity of the songs could be a bit better because there are a few to many that follow the same structure and pattern. But apart from these minor defects this is an album that every fan of heavy metal with great melodies and breathtaking vocals should be in possession of.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
6	9	8

Summary
8 chalices of 10 - Hawk