Artist - High Council
Album - All Rise
Label - Gradwell House
Reviewer - Marc Halverson
High Council is a four piece that hails from the Philadelphia area.
“Drawing from such diverse influences as Iron Maiden, Radiohead, The Beatles, and the Nintendo Entertainment System, High Council have blended several styles into a unique blend of video game fueled Neo-Classic rock metal,” (High Council Biography). With that being said, High Council’s EP “All Rise” is comprised of four songs that rock in a unique way.
‘Hand Of God’ opens with an Iron Maiden type riff followed with a cool bass line. Steve Donahue and Bob Saunders both handle vocals and at times they are reminiscent of Serj Tankain. The song has a Radiohead type break down that is very peaceful and then breaks back into straight rock n’ roll. ‘Purgatorial Reflections’ is the longest song on the EP and is a very diverse song with several different emotions played throughout. ‘Clanless’ and ‘Fatum Praeclarum’ are solid songs that follow along the same lines that are very easy to listen to.
“All Rise” is a strong four song EP and be on the look out for High Council to receive some attention from the hard rock scene. However, they incorporate so many influences and styles that they should appeal to many different genres of fans. From classic rock to instrumental to 80’s metal, High Council has it all and they have what it takes to make people from all genres rise.
High Council is:
Steve Donahue – Guitars, Vocals, Flute
Bob Saunders – Guitars, Vocals
Brad Thron – Bass, Guitar
Lou Di Domencio - Percussion
