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ION VEIN
Ion Vein

Mortal Music (2014)
Rating: 7/10

If you ask me, Illinois-based metallers Ion Vein formed at the wrong time; 1994 to be precise, when heavy metal was on the downslide and grunge had its foot not just in the door but was walking dog shit all over the carpet.

Even so, Ion Vein soldiered on but didn’t release their debut offering, Beyond Tomorrow, until 1999. Back then the line-up consisted of vocalist Russ Klimczak, guitarists Chris Lotesto and John Malufka, bassist Brian Gordon and drummer Scott Lang.

Four years later and with a new millennium under way, Ion Vein stormed back with their sophomore outing, 2003’s Reigning Memories, a 12-track, hour-long opus which featured pretty much the same formation of musicians, but it’s fair to say that since their inception Ion Vein has seen many members come and go in nigh on every department.

And so we come to the self-titled album number three, the first full-length affair to feature vocalist Scott Featherstone who was first showcased on the previous two digital-release EPs. The line-up still consists of Lotesto, but he’s now joined by fellow axeman Rich Knight, bassist Rob Such and drummer Chuck White. Whatever changes this band goes through, one thing is clear; they still have their finger on the pulse when it comes to churning out hard-hitting metal.

In a sense, I can see how these guys remained strong through the grunge era; at the time, anything remotely heavy metal was quite cold and clinical and there is that chilly hue about Ion Vein’s sound. The music offered through all three records has been one keen to boast of its masculinity and exhibits some of the main characteristics some would expect if a band was going to indulge in powerful metal.

Featherstone is an unremarkable singer to an extent but his gritty, no-holds barred style fits into the sound extremely well, yet rarely are any frills offered. I recall back in the 80s listening to bands such as Meliah Rage, and being impressed by their simplistic approach to metal and simply battering the listener rather than befuddling them with self-indulgent wizardry. That’s not to say that Ion Vein is a basic bunch reliant on mediocre musing. Far from it; there is a real distinctive rage burning throughout this record, particularly on the awesome power of ‘Anger Inside’ which in a sense belongs to that Pantera mould of angst but stranger still, there is a blackened essence of mid-90s grunge here too.

Alice In Chains and Gruntruck spring to mind in dirty sprigs as do obscure Canadian groove metallers Jesus Christ, and so Ion Vein’s new album really does make for a bruising experience. ‘Alone’ is masterful at mixing the sublime, the subtle and slamming as it opens with a pensive guitar only to transform into a ten-ton juggernaut bolstered by White’s incredible drum barrage. Of the 12 tracks on offer, there is a real consistency throughout, suggesting that the band were a little wary of getting things wrong and so instead of immediately going for the throat have set their stall out methodically and tested the waters before bringing the album up to the hilt with the likes of ‘In The End’ and ‘Twist Of Fate’.

Yes, this album is very much still a work of cold steel and the clinical; the persistent ruthless nature which has been instilled in the band from day one continues its march of brutality, but the defining moment here is most certainly Featherstone’s vocals. Featherstone’s bellows and rages add a more ominous and manly element, whereas under the leadership of Klimczak the band had more in common with traditional metal bands and power metal kings such as Savatage.

I admit though to liking both vocalists and keep changing my mind as to who I prefer because when one hears the monstrous gallop of ‘Love / Hate’ or the pounding ‘Face The Truth’, I find comfort in the vice-like grip of this version of Ion Vein, but there’s just something on this record which I cannot escape, and that is it’s mid-to-late 90s feel which I get a negative vibe from. Having said that, this is still a hardened American power metal platter which slays dragons and builds giant stone walls, but such is the mixture used to construct such barriers that at times I’m left just a touch uninvited.

Neil Arnold

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