Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Attic The Invocation Company: Van Records Release: 2013 Genre: Traditional Reviewer: Greg Watson

My own little horror movie

Germany's Attic are coming on to the scene with the release of their album "The Invocation". From start to finish, "The Invocation" takes a page straight out of King Diamond's diary. Full of falsetto vocals, eerie melodies and classic metal sounds, the album is a great listen from start to finish.

From the outset, you can tell Attic are huge fans of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate's work. It is not a conceptual album like King Diamond is fond of releasing but there is a theme of the occult and horror elements throughout. Tracks like "Join the Coven", "Funeral in the Woods" and "Ghost of the Orphanage" will have any fan of the aforementioned artists feeling right at home. I can imagine sitting around at Halloween listening to this album in the dark to feel like I was in my own little horror movie.

Vocalist Meister Cagliostro is a true fan and well adept at using his falsetto to the best of his abilities. His normal voice is an odd mixture of German accented English but you have to listen really hard to hear the accent come through. He is capable of inducing goose bumps with some of his screams and really adds a creepy element to the album. Guitarists Rob and Katte are a dynamic duo of traditional metal guitar work with great churning riffs and melodic yet intricate solo work.

Bassists Chris and drummer Roman fill out the rhythm section of the band and provide nice fills throughout the album. The aforementioned songs are my favorites off the album but the album overall is quite good. The only thing that I feel takes a bit away from the album is the almost identical resemblance to the aformentioned artists. It is almost a carbon copy but nonetheless I am very impressed with "The Invocation" and strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a good album with a classic metal vibe to it. Definitely take the time to check this one out.