Metal Flame magazine

MERENDINE ATOMICHE -"The Holy Metal" Songs: 1."War Or Peace", 2."Holy Metal", 3."The Truth", 4."The Guardian", 5."Mental Agony" It seems that the rise of the Italian scene in the global Heavy Metal status cannot be held back! And after the very successful Power Metal bands, there are others from the rest genres that claim a place in our "don't forget to check" list. One of them is Merendine Atomiche. This band used to be an official tribute band to Metallica, but this time they try their strength in their own compositions. They play Thrash Metal influenced by the Bay Area scene. That means heavy guitars, strong rhythm section, heavy riffing and clean, with an aggressive attitude vocals. The CD contains 5 songs of pure, well-played Thrash, which however aren't as original as they could be. The band performs nicely and isn't afraid to use mellower vocals and clean guitars where it is needed. The production is good and heavy enough. This is a very good effort from a talented band, which just needs to work more on its ideas and subdue its influences. OVERALL SCORE : 7½