Here’s a rarity; a Lion Music release that I can’t get to grips with. Lion themselves suggest Iced Earth as a suitable comparison (perhaps Resistance have a megalomaniac guitarist) and I can see the likeness but they’re nowhere near as good. Nowhere is this more evident than on the opener Inhumanation which is, to damn with faint praise, Ok as is End of Today which has attitude aplenty but is sorely lacking in the tune department which is a common thread throughout Patents of Control. 

One Nation Under G.O.D. is, as Enid Blyton may have put it, horrid, the widdly guitar bits are as Tapesque as it gets and the “whoa, whoa” bits are just rubbish. Talking about rubbish, what’s Confession of the Blackheart like then, I hear you ask? Erm, not good. It made me question why such a discerning label as Lion would touch this with the proverbial barge pole. 

Paternal Shift finds us again in Iced Earth mode and is one of the better tracks as it isn’t just power for the sake of power (well, not all the way through.) It was during this track that I placed the vocalists that singer Robbie Hett reminds me of. Somewhat strangely, he strikes me as a cross between Blackie Lawless and Noddy Holder. 

Cerebral Screams begins so quietly that it took me fifteen seconds to realise that it was even on and then another fifteen to wish that it wasn’t! Technochrist actually isn’t quite as bad as the name suggests but it is fairly standard trad metal that bands can reproduce in bars worldwide without a sniff of a record deal. The Cleansing is just a mess with its thrash leanings colliding with the almost power metal drums. Hateful.

The Alpha and the Omega doesn’t up the ante any, in fact it possibly lowers it! Robbie/Noddy combines with the laughable lyric to make this one of the worst tracks it has been my displeasure to hear all year – and remember that I reviewed Mothernight! Mirrors Black is last and I don’t really care whether it is last at this point but suffice to say it doesn’t make up for the dross that precede it. Seriously kids, this sucks big time and I was even more gutted to see the great Neil Kernon involved in a mixing capacity. Let’s hope he keeps this one off the old CV!

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 Track Listing

Inhumanation
End Of Today
Ashes Of Tomorrow
One Nation Under G.O.D.
Confession Of The Blackheart
Paternal Shift
Cerebral Screams
Technochrist
The Cleansing
The Alpha & The Omega
Mirrors Black

Line Up

Robbie Hett – Vocals
Dan Luna – Guitars
Dave Watson – Guitars
Paul Shigo – Bass
Matt Ohnemus – Drums