Review by James Anthony

‘Resistance is Useless’, the debut EP from local sword-bearers PRISONERS OF  FAITH, is an entertaining affair that ultimately falters under the weight of its own ambition. Despite the obvious effort that has been put in to the arrangements and the enthusiasm of the performances – it’s evident from the start that these guys love doing what they do and their small but devoted fan-base love them for it. However, the four tracks found here are simply a case of reaching beyond their capabilities, at least at this point in time.

The vocalist is the weakest link here; the all-too-frequent moments where he reaches for King Diamond-esque high notes simply aren’t powerful enough to be effective, generally coming off as more ridiculous than epic. However, he almost sounds like Hansi Kursch of Blind Guardian when he stays within his lower range – which is certainly a compliment and would do well to focus more on this aspect of his craft.

The guitarists come out with some nice riffs and solos, even if it’s all been done before (the main riff of the title track could have been directly lifted from Metallica’s ‘That Was Just Your Life’), but a few too many sloppy moments let them down. This makes the first and last tracks here, both clocking in at over seven minutes, overstay their welcome somewhat, instead of the natural flow that one might reasonably expect from epic heavy metal. The drums and bass are effective and well-played, if largely unremarkable.

I want to like these guys, I really do.. and hopefully, if they can keep at it and improve their technical and song-writing skills (and possibly find a new vocalist), one day I will. But the modern metal fan demands more from their “potential” heroes than was the case in the 80s (here’s looking at you, Venom), and Prisoners of Faith need to pick up their game to compete in today’s overcrowded scene. Here’s hoping they can do it.

[starreview tpl=16 style='plain']