Released by: Self
Out Now!!!
Line Up:
Tom Frank – guitar,vocals
Shaun Avants – bass, vocals
Justin Collins – drums
Jeff Henson – guitar
Tracklist:
1. Black Magic Summer 04:39
2. Red Moon Forming 04:12
3. Drifting Alone 04:27
4. Strike and Disappear 04:34
5. Broken Mirror 04:04
6. Tyrant On The Throne 04:48
7. I Feel No Pain 04:26
8. The Bleeding Heart 05:55
DUEL is from Austin, Texas and they feature two ex-members of the Nuclear Blast Records signed band Scorpion Child. With DUEL, they seem to go into a more Doom/70s Proto-Metal Black Sabbath direction, which could already be heard on their great previous albums Fears of the dead (2016) and Witchbanger (2017), but DUEL also has the classic 70s hard rock guitar riffs, guitar solo’s and some killer choruses (like on their first couple of records during songs like Devil, Heart of the sun and This old crow).
The band’s 2019 release is called Valley of shadows, and their label Heavy Psych Sounds Records was kind enough to sent me all their albums, so I could hear their development. It is clear that the new album Valley of shadows is their strongest effort so far, which can be heard right from the start with the rather catchy midtempo Doom Fuzz tune Black magic summer (a la Baroness).
Following track is the uptempo classic 70s hard rocking Red moon forming, which has similarities to Thin Lizzy and Spidergawd, but also some NWOBHM can be heard in this song. What is clear that the band has a potential open sound that should appeal to a wide range of rock and metal fans because the band has some catchy choruses to offer as well as diversity in their songs. A song like Drifting alone is slightly groovier than the first 2 songs, like a mix between early Black Sabbath and even Cream/Led Zeppelin, so a touch of heavy blues-rock. The vocal work has a bit of Metallica influences, while musically they are taking the best of 1970s rock, doom and Hard Rock, which DUEL is doing perfectly on their 8 tracks here. The uptempo Broken mirror and especially Tyrant on the throne are the closes thing to a mixture of Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy! If you’re into classic 70s Hardrock and Black Sabbath ish Doom, then make sure to check out DUEL at https://duel3.bandcamp.com
Written by: Gabor Kleinbloesem
Ratings: Gabor  8/10
https://open.spotify.com/album/0WhpWmv8WesCo0AdMN0q0d
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