A decent souvenir of the show for long-standing Arthemis fans.

The latest release from Italian Metallers Arthemis is a document of their eight song performance at the 2013 Hard Rock Hell festival in Wales. I freely admit to preferring the Alessio Garavello fronted incarnation of the band, indeed their excellent ‘Black Society’ album was one of the first reviews I ever submitted to this mighty tome. I felt that Garavello’s more melodic vocal approach added much-needed dynamics to the material, yet I have to say that his successor Fabio Dessi is blessed with an almighty vocal roar that suits the Thrash-orientated nature of the bulk of their output.

However it’s the sole original member and guiding light of Arthemis, Andy Martongelli, who is the true star here; his incendiary guitar histrionics are an absolute joy to behold. The rhythm section is a recent addition, though drummer Kekko and bassist JT add their excellent contributions as if they have been a part of the band since its inception.

Naturally, the selected material for a reasonably short set leans towards their more recent Dessi fronted output, including three songs from latest effort ‘We Fight’ (‘Still Awake’, ‘Empire’ and the title-track) and four from previous album ‘Heroes’ (‘Scars On Scars, ‘Home’, ‘7 Days’ and ‘Vortex’), along with one ’oldie’ from the aforementioned ‘Black Society’ (the rampaging ‘Electri-Fire’).

The sound quality is amazing and the band are tight (even though there is a little too much reliance on the “F - word” from Dessi); this is a decent souvenir of the show for long-standing Arthemis fans or anybody who attended, but I’m not convinced there is that much appeal for the casual listener.

Ant Heeks