Chastain - The Voice of the Cult [1988]

“The Voice of the Cult” is Chastain’s fourth album in four years. After releasing their third assault “The 7th of Never,” you would think that the band might want to start stepping their game up and branching out to achieve a better sound, but that didn’t happen. Instead, this album suffers the same fate that the previous one did. Chastain decided to stick with the same formula that got them where they were, and to be honest, this band just doesn’t have the ability to play the same stuff over and over and be revered as legends. Sure, this release is still awesome and I enjoy re-visiting it when in the mood for some heavy/power metal, but the potential that was found on the band’s magnum opus “Ruler of the Wasteland” was gone, and their chances for topping that album were too. 

If you’ve heard the group’s previous album, then you should have a fair idea of what “The Voice of the Cult” sounds like, as a majority of the music here treads on familiar territory, rarely ever attempting to travel down another path. There’s plenty of shredding and melodies to be found in the midst of the solid riffage and Leather Leone’s amazing vocals, which have not lost a beat at all. She’s still got the range and the power she had on the first three Chastain full-lengths and it’s a reason why she’s always being compared to the legendary Mike Howe of Metal Church fame. Like I said before, I don’t really have a problem with the band’s decision to not try and take their sound to another level and sticking with the formula, because tracks like “The Voice of the Cult,” “Live Hard,” and “Chains of Love” are all worth listening to, but it feels like they could have been on any of the other albums before. 

Of course, not all of the music here sticks to the same old, same old. There are some cool little nuances that separate the great tracks from the good ones. “Share Yourself With Me” is one of the group’s more aggressive tracks, with its galloping riffage and the performance of one of the best front women in metal definitely gives the song some more anger. “Fortune Teller” has a darker kind of vibe to it thanks to the melodies and riffs throughout, harkening back to the band’s best record “Ruler of the Wasteland,” and “Child of Evermore” features some thrashy riffage reminiscent of Dave Mustaine. “Take Me Home” is the closest thing to epic on this album, and while not quite as mindblowing as some of the band’s previous material, it’s still a quality listen. I will give Chastain credit, because they released three very good albums in a row, which is not an easy feat. “The Voice of the Cult” ranks below the last album and this also the last album the band released that I care for, but fans of old-school heavy/power metal should still have no problem trying to sing along with Leather Leone and air-guitaring to the inhuman David Chastain. 

Highlights

“Share Yourself With Me”

“Fortune Teller”

“Take Me Home”

Final Rating

Awesome [8/10]

Chastain - The 7th of Never [1987]

If you want to talk about being a productive heavy metal band on the rise, look no further than Chastain. After consecutively releasing two full-length albums back to back, the band would not stop. The result of this persistence is the group’s third album “The 7th of Never.” After delivering their best effort yet with “Ruler of the Wasteland,” Chastain needed to hit their next record out of the park. There’s definitely some differences between this album and the predecessor, but the talks of which is better go back to the sophomore, as “The 7th of Never” is just a notch below. 

The overall sound of the band hasn’t changed much on their third outing, as Leather Leone is still wailing away with her impeccable vocals and David Chastain is still shredding like a maniac. Well, he’s even better than before. David’s lead guitar skills have always been one of the reasons why Chastain is so awesome, but he took his playing to another level for this record. The instrumental “827” is really the only evidence I need that this man is a regular Yngwie with the guitar. Luckily, “The 7th of Never” isn’t just a wankfest for David, as he has plenty of substance (riffs) to go with all of his flashy ability. “Paradise” and “Feel His Magic” have some of the best riffs that have made it to a song on a Chastain record. Also, the chemistry between David and Leone is outstanding on this release, especially on the title track where the riffs and vocals just mesh together perfectly, creating some very memorable moments in the process.

One noticeable change that didn’t sit to well with me, though, was the inclusion of pianos and synths. “The Wicked Are Restless” begins with a piano section, which wasn’t so bad in itself, but it added nothing to the music. The synth parts on “Forevermore” also did nothing for the overall product of the music, other than make plenty of metalheads shake their heads in disapproval. Aside from some revamped guitar abilities and a little less of that “epic” feel the band had before, “The 7th of Never” doesn’t gravitate too far from the album that came before, and it left Chastain on a plateau of sorts. This is still an awesome album, though, so any fan of the band’s previous material should have no problem loving this one. 

Highlights

“Paradise”

“The Seventh of Never”

“Feel His Magic”

Final Rating

Awesome [8.4/10]

Chastain - Mystery of Illusion [1985]

Heavy metal in 1985 was still a morphing and always changing landscape, as there were groups thrashing as hard as they could, bands that were taking evil beyond its limits (Bathory and Celtic Frost), and then there were bands like Chastain who wanted to play like their heroes in Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, etc. A lot of American bands who played in this vein were usually a bit faster and ended up pioneering the USPM subgenre, but Chastain played very much like the forefathers on “Mystery of Illusion,” the band’s debut full-length record. Was this band’s rendition of heavy metal as good as the legends before? No, not really, but this album serves as a terrific foundation of what was to come in this band’s future.

As many would expect, the songs on this album are dominated by midpaced riffs and a lot of melodies, which is made apparent on the first track “Black Knight,” which consists of the aforementioned riffs and a decent melodic intro. The melody that opens “I Fear No Evil” is definitely an ear-catcher and the riffs later on also follow suit. Unfortunately, Chastain wasn’t very consistent and songs like “When the Battle’s Over” and “I’ve Seen Tomorrow” tread along a mediocre path due to derivative riffs and a lack of proper execution that was seen on other memorable tracks like “Mystery of Illusion” and “The Winds of Change.” Another track that just didn’t stick well at all was “Night of the Gods,” a sludgy song that had plenty of St. Vitus and Black Sabbath influence, but this clearly isn’t the style of music that Leather Leone and the crew excel at. 

Speaking of Leather Leone, she is one of the highlights on this album with her beautiful voice that possesses an insane range. Her singing on “Endlessly” is soothing and pleasant, but she can also hit the high notes and bring a bit of aggression to her vocals as well (“I Fear No Evil”). Another bright spot on this full-length is the lead guitar work of David T. Chastain. There are of course the aforementioned melodies that show off his skill, but this man can absolutely shred and this is noted in just about every song. His solos are brilliant, there’s a perfect mix of melody and technicality in every one, adding something to remember on even the dullest of songs. “Mystery of Illusion” isn’t the greatest heavy metal album that you’ve never heard, because there are plenty out there that are better, but it’s still a quality listen from a stellar band who would later go on to unlock their real potential with their next release. 

Highlights

“Mystery of Illusion”

“I Fear No Evil”

“The Winds of Change”

Final Rating

Mediocre [7.8/10]

Chastain - Ruler of the Wasteland [1986]

Just by glancing at the album art, you can probably tell what you're getting yourself into when it comes time to listen to "Ruler of the Wasteland." This is epic heavy/power metal of top form with plenty of Judas Priest and Maiden worshiping going on. Chastain is a band that is for some reason, not as popular as they should have been. I rarely ever see mentions of this band on the internet and I stumbled across them by accident myself, but I'm fucking glad that I did. The band's first record "Mystery of Illusion" honestly isn't anything worth writing home about, as it's solid, but it just can't compete with this greatly improved sophomore album, a record boasting epic atmospheres, catchy hooks and fantastic melodies throughout. 

"Ruler of the Wasteland" starts off with the title track and immediately the listener is grabbed by the shredding solos and the catchy Judas Priest-inspired riff that follows. But then the vocals come in, and I'm sure if I didn't tell you or you didn't look it up yourself, you would never guess that Chastain was fronted by a female in Leather Leone. Her vocals are plenty aggressive (well, as far as power metal goes. Think David Wayne of Metal Church), but there are also plenty of moments where she hits the real high notes and she does so with the greatest of ease. The range of Leone's vocals is a definite highlight on this album, as it provides the listener with some added variety to the already varied music. Some of the tracks are typical power metal tunes that feature typical riffage and shredding solos galore, with "One Day to Live" and "Fighting to Stay Alive" being the main ones to follow this archetype. Tracks like "The King Has the Power" and "There Will Be Justice" travel a more unorthodox route, using the bass as the focal point of the music at points and mixing in the acoustic sections with the rest of the music, but the songs are fine nonetheless. 

Of course, I said Chastain has their epic material and that's really when they're at their best. "Angel of Mercy" is the best track on "Ruler of the Wasteland" with its chilling intro, terrific riffs, stellar melodies and solos, and of course the soaring vocals that top everything off. I guarantee this song will be stuck in your head for a while. "Living in a Dreamworld" and "The Battle of Nevermore" are also pretty epic in their own right, though they just can't measure up to the brilliance of "Angel of Mercy" (Then again, that would be asking too much). "Ruler of the Wasteland" is just another awesome album that came out in the year where so many masterpieces were released that it unfortunately got lost in the shuffle, but that's no reason to doubt the top-notch material here, so check out Chastain immediately or heads will roll...

Highlights

"Ruler of the Wasteland"

"Angel of Mercy"

"Living in a Dreamworld"

Final Rating

Awesome [8.6/10]