Patriarch come from Belgium, and I have to admit that I feel a bit strange to see their work reviewed here, among new and rising names, because they’re everything but new in the metal scene. Believe it or not, they have made two records (in 1990 and 1993) for the well-known Shark Records, and the most surprising is that they exist as a group since 1983, when they had the name Pariah (nothing to do with the British band, the pre-Skyclad group of two Skyclad members)! This mini-CD is their next step, and it shows a band with some kind of identity problem. When they tend to the U.S. power metal, in the vein of Sanctuary, Nevermore, Helstar and old Queensryche, they’re really interesting. When they recall Pantera though, the whole situation becomes a bit uninspired, because they don’t seem to know this musical style, and because the hardcore parts sound a bit unrelated to their style. Their work though won’t disappoint anybody (contact them at http://home.planetinternet.be/~juff/), and note that they recently played as a support group to Overkill and Annihilator in Belgium. 

7/10

John Vidiadakis