Desyre - Worning of the Night (Glam Nation) 2009
1. Warning Of The Night (:40)
2. Dreams (5:01)
3. Can’t Let Go (5:02)
4. Yule Night Brightness (4:43)
5. Calling (4:28)
6. Mr. Hyde In Delite (5:20)
7. Ransom (5:11)
8. No One Knows (4:07)
9. Undoings Of My Life (4:30)
10. The Battle (3:56)
11. Burning In The 3rd Degree (10:11)
Desyre are a band from Finland formed in 2004 that desire to see the return of the sound and the spectacle of 1980's heavy metal. In fact, I am sure these guys would have loved to have been living on the Sunset Strip during the heyday of big hair, spandex and guitar wizardry. Desyre have the look down for sure. It's all about being a bigger than life spectacle. There's something to be said about showmanship, which has all but disappeared from heavy metal in more recent years. Helsinki based Desyre are on a mission to change that in both its over-the-top hair-metal image and it's metallic musical leanings.
"Warning Of The Night." is the band's independently released, first full-length debut. The sound is a mixture of the metallic leanings of Stryper and the glam rock of Hanoi Rocks. While the music fits nicely under the pop metal umbrella, the album is a mixture of up-tempo numbers ("Calling" and "The Battle") and mid-paced direction songs ("Dreams" and "Mr. Hyde In Delite"). There is also the obligatory ballad ("Ransom"), an acoustic number ("Undoings Of My Life") and a heavy metal Christmas Carol titled "Yule Night Brightness". "Dreams" really recalls the classic 80's Stryper sound, especially in the music. The musicianship throughout is the strength of the music. The band knows how to write those chugging metal songs, mixing in some more melodic moments and a few galloping riffs. As is mandatory for this style of metal, there is the tag-team guitars of Mazi Bee and Coco Tommy. Taking a cue from Stryper's strong dual guitar sound, Desyre build their sound around that template.
What Desyre really lacks are the immediate hooks that are a must for this style of metal. I was really looking for those fist-in-the-air, sing-along type anthems but they weren't really there. The other problem lies in the vocals. Though Mazi Bee has a good singing voice that sometimes sounds like a young Vince Neil, the recording seems to squash or compress the vocals, which makes them sound a bit odd. Also, the vocals seem to be a bit low in the mix. Mazi lets off a few high-pitched screams and sounds fantastic. Overall, however, he has a sound that would have worked better on a sleazier type of sound like Faster Pussycat. However, I think the real problem is in the recording or mixing as opposed to the vocals themselves.
Despite being an indie release, the packaging is top notch, right down to the very 1980's looking cover art. The four panel digi is professionally laid out. There is also a 12-page booklet packed with photos and lyrics.