As fitting for such an enigmatic entity, the sixth album from Speed Metal legends Agent Steel has been released under some rather bizarre circumstances. In addition to being the first album to feature their original vocalist John Cyriis since 1987’s Unstoppable Force, he also ends up being the only original member left in the band after the fallout of their last reunion. Subsequent live festival debacles and his eccentric responses to preemptive concerns regarding this album’s quality certainly haven’t helped matters, leaving fans to wonder whether it will be a return to form or an insane conundrum.
Ironically enough, the biggest thing that holds back No Other Godz Before Me is none other than Cyriis himself. While his Geoff Tate-esque falsetto has always come with an oddball character, his performance here plunges too far into the uncanny valley. There is an undeniably processed sound at work despite repeated denials of there being any use of pitch correction, and the decision to deliver all the lines in a nasally squeak further reinforces that unnatural vibe. It could be argued that this “weird” approach was intentional since his voice isn’t necessarily shot, but it still bogs down the experience.
On the flip side, the hired guns actually do a pretty good job all things considered. The guitar work is particularly solid, making the most of that Thrash influence with an old school tone and choppy rhythms while the harmonies and solos sprinkled throughout give the songs some extra fluidity. The drums and bass are also tight with the former maintaining a reliably fast pace throughout. I must admit that the performances can feel rather made to order without the twin guitar spice of Bernie Versailles and Juan Garcia on board, but they’re clearly doing their best.
And with the songwriting as the grand equalizer, the band seems to be using the speedy onslaught of 1985’s Skeptics Apocalypse as a template compared to the more dynamic Unstoppable Force. With the exception of the stomping ‘Veterans Of Disaster,’ the album’s tracks all aim for the same frantically urgent execution. This interchangeable method makes individual songs stand out more for their quirks than true memorability, as ‘Crypts Of Eternal Damnation’ and ‘The Devil’s Greatest Trick’ put in some rather obnoxious hooks while ‘Outer Space Connection’ invokes slight Voivod-esque guitar dissonance. Fortunately, the guitar swells on ‘Passage To Afron-V’ and ‘Entrance To Afron-V’ make for some pretty sweet bookends.
Overall, No Other Godz Before Me isn’t a disaster so much as an okay album plagued by questionable decisions. The rather one-dimensional songwriting puts the album in an inherently precarious position and the confounding vocal delivery will be enough to turn off many listeners from getting a feel for it. One can imagine these riffs working better with more nuanced vocals in front of them, which is unfortunate since Cyriis is clearly the one meant to be showcased here, but the album would still be pretty pedestrian in such a scenario. It’s great to see Agent Steel’s signature style be brought into the modern age, but it might be best if somebody else takes a crack at it.
Buy the album here: https://agentsteel.net/
6 / 10
CHRIS LATTA