Album Review: Silver Talon – Becoming A Demon (Self Released)

Rising from the ashes of Portland traditional heavy metal band Spellcaster, Silver Talon aims to keep the flame of heavy metal burning. Formed by ex-Spellcaster members Bryce VanHoosen (guitar), Gabriel Franco (bass), and Sebastian Silva (guitar) in the spring of 2017, and joined by vocalist Wyatt Howell (Sanctifyre) shortly thereafter, Silver Talon seeks to pickup where Spellcaster left off.

Their debut album, Becoming a Demon was released in early October this year.

When the loss of one band results in the birth of another, especially one with as much quality as Silver Talon, we can be happy. A traditional heavy metal band, Becoming a Demon is a fiery blast of riffs, solos, drums and gruff vocals. Don’t expect a game changer here, just enjoy the pace and fire of it all.

Devil Machine is a storming start with some real groove to the chunky guitars with the vocals switching effortlessly between styles. It’s gloriously old-school and a lot of fun. The title track keeps things rooted in that too with an impressive guitar solo before Speed of the Night flies along at a pace that is blurring. The latter is Silver Talon at their strongest.

In fact there really isn’t a bad track on the entire album with even the more pedestrian Cold Embrace smashing it with the solo. It’s heavy metal at its most refined and simplistic while having hidden depths that thrill. It wraps up with a stonkingly strong cover of Sanctuary’s Battle Angels just to cap it off too.

Silver Talon – Becoming a Demon Full Track Listing:

1. Breath of Kerosene (Intro)
2. Devil Machine
3. Silver Talon
4. Speed of the Night
5. Cold Embrace
6. Warriors’ End
7. Battle Angels (Sanctuary Cover – feat. Jeff Loomis)
8. Outro (Estudio)

You can pick up the album over on Bandcamp and stream via Spotify. Head over to their website to pick up merchandise and find out more. As well as over on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.