Limited Edition

I love metal. Always have, always will. I got my first taste of metal in the mid-eighties and have grown my taste to a pretty much a "I like what I like" mentality. I found this band on Encyclopaedia Metallum (why aren't you looking there?) and went to their Myspace and then came here and ordered their album. I normally am not into speed metal as much since I tend to like the heavier subgenres of thrash and death metal (including their own subgenres). I liked this band because they didn't shy away from being who they are: they play modern speed metal (with an old school attitude), they have a fantastic guitarist and an overall heavy sound (for speed metal, mind you -if you want Suffocation, don't look here). They also have a female vocalist, Kate French (who is hot, btw) and she really embodies and fits in with what the band is doing. I recommend this album if you like thrash or death metal but are openminded enough to give speed metal a shot. Not every song is an uptempo "banger" but you get the grit with the polish with these guys/gal. Again, this is a sort of out of the norm for me but I like it: it rocks!

I discovered this band and album through a Google search for "fast, aggressive, yet still melodic heavy metal". Google's search results turned out to be very accurate!Vainglory's self-titled album is excellent heavy (and I mean HEAVY) metal. There is incredible guitar work and incredible vocals by Kate French.Yes, Vainglory is fronted by a female singer, but Kate was definitely not hired just for her looks. This woman can sing! Her voice is actually deeper than that of some male metal vocalists.As you might expect with a female vocalist, the album does include one ballad. It's called "Undying Love". But don't let the title fool you, this is the heaviest ballad I have ever heard (beating the previous record holder "Into the Fire" by Mystic Prophecy).And in case you thought "Undying Love" was too mellow (it wasn't) the next song is the instrumental "Decapitation Attack". The 30 second clip here on Amazon.com simply can not do this song justice. The preview merely cuts your hair, the complete song takes your whole head off!If this album has a fatal flaw that keeps it from a perfect five-star rating, it is that the other songs simply aren't as memorable, and tend to blend together in one's mind. Also, with a running time of over 66 minutes, this disc may grow tiresome on subsequent spins.But all in all, an excellent effort that should appeal to fans of power metal bands like Mystic Prophecy, as well as fans of bands like Pantera.This disc includes a data track with the music video for "Burdened". The clip is just a live performance spruced up with visual distortion and strobe light effects, but it's a nice bonus feature.