Intense - Second Sight
Underground Symphony
Classic Heavy Metal
12 songs (62'09)
Release year: 2004
Intense, Underground Symphony
Reviewed by Marty
Hailing from England, Intense is the kind of band that makes me believe that there still is hope for British heavy metal. Intense bears very little resemblance to the current wave of European power metal bands and aside from their classic British metal sound, they show some influence from U.S. power metal, more notably Iced Earth. The band's first E.P., Dark Season, released in 1997 was very well received and got widespread critical acclaim. Unhappy with the heavier direction that the band members wanted to take and the fact that it didn't suit his vocal style, founding member and lead vocalist Sean Hetherington parted ways with the rest of the band. Slowly, Sean began the rebuilding process with new members who shared the same vision. Seven years after the release of their debut E.P., Intense is finally back on the scene with a self-financed full length album that has landed them a deal with Underground Symphony Records. The band consists of Sean Hetherington, vocals, Neil Ablard, drums, Adrian Lambert, bass, Dave Peak, guitar, and Nick Palmer, guitar. The band is employing a touring keyboard player for some of the minor keyboard parts in some of their songs and are scheduled to do a small summer tour with fellow U.K. band, Power Quest.

After listening to the first few tracks, I got the feeling that I wasn't listening to a new band, but one that may have faded into oblivion from the 80's NWOBMH scene. The overall sound, the riffs and the shouting vocal style of Sean Heatherington brought back fond memories for me, listening to such bands as Demon, Diamond Head and Angel Witch. They have the sort of foreboding sound that was found on the earlier Judas Priest albums as well. Mix the NWOBHM influences with a little Iced Earth, some Iron Maiden for the leads, guitar harmonies and galloping rhythms and a dash of early Queensryche (E.P. and Warning albums) and you have created the recipe for the Intense sound. Highlights of this debut release include The Winged, which has a great heavy and dramatic sound. This one has "epic" written all over it as fas as the arrangement and Sean really belts out the vocals. War Of Angels is a very speedy track which mixes in more of a "groove' metal style and has a certain Maiden flair with the sound and chanting vocals. Skull Of Sidian mixes in both quieter and heavy tempos, adds a touch of Maiden with the guitar harmonies and features a great "building" and melodic lead solo. The closing track, Final Breath is a haunting track that features acoustic guitar and voice for the intro and slowly builds and gets heavy with Sean delivering some of his best vocals on the album. A bonus track, The Way The Rivers Flow will be included on some versions of this release.

The rest of the album is solid throughout and many of their songs have an "epic" quality to them. I didn't take to Sean's voice right away but after several listens, his unique and classic "leather lunged" heavy metal style is a welcomed change to all the other ultra-sugary sweet vocal styles of a lot of other European power metal bands. Lots of quiet guitar intros grace many tracks which inevitably get heavier and this aspect brings a great sense of foreboding and drama to their music. Clever riffing and a great classic heavy metal sound are the mainstays of this band. Great effort has been put into trying to produce something that has obvious influences but yet still has an identity and a stamp of its own. Every track has a different style and arrangement and the band doesn't repeat themselves. With a label backing them and with improvements in songwriting these guys have the potential to really be a great band. They are off on the right track with the style of metal that they play and will certainly distance themselves from the pack with their originality. I like this album a lot but I have the feeling that these guys can do even better. A fine debut from Intense and a definite nod to the "old school" so to speak but with enough energy and a very interesting style to breath some new life into the increasingly stale power metal scene. Well done mates!!!

Killing Songs :
The Winged, War Of Angels, Skull Of Sidian and Final Breath
Marty quoted 75 / 100
Other albums by Intense that we have reviewed:
Intense - As Our Army Grows reviewed by Marty and quoted 85 / 100
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