OF TYRANTS AND REFLECTIONS

"Of Tyrants and Reflections" is the first dmeo recording by German progressive metal act Payne´s Grey. The demo was independently released in April 1990. Payne´s Grey formed in 1988 in the city of Karlsruhe and were active in the early- to mid-90s, releasing two demos and the 1995 debut full-length studio album "Kadath Decoded". They subsequently toured with among others Psychotic Waltz.

Stylistically early Psychotic Waltz actially isn´t the worst reference, but it´s predominantly early Fates Warning with the occasional nod towards late 80s Helloween that I´m mostly reminded of. So Payne´s Grey hit the sound somewhere between the more technical power metal of the 80s and the early progressive metal of the late 80s/early 90s.

"Of Tyrants and Reflections" features four tracks and total playing time of 18.10 minutes and it´s a demo featuring a decent but not great sound quality. The band are well playing but lead vocalist Hagen Schmidt sounds terribly strained delivering what is mostly very high pitched vocals. He is not without skills, but he needs a better sound production to help his vocals shine, and maybe a bit more vocal training too.

When that is said "Of Tyrants and Reflections" is otherwise a treat for fans of the genre, and had the vocals been less forced and strained sounding, this would have been a great demo. I still hear a lot of promise and high level instrumental performances, but I´m afraid the vocals ruin the listening experience and make the demo a bit of a chore to get through. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

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