The Demo Review:
Jesters Moon There are currently 1 Reviews of this Demo.
Average Rating: 3
Band Name: Jesters Moon
Demo Title: Jesters Moon
Band Members: Vido Sinn - Guitars/Dr5 Syn, Alvin - Bass, Preston Hatch - Drums, Bryce Van Hatch - Vocals/Guitars/Keyboards.
Location: Portland, Oregon
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    • Blind's Review:
    Hm... my first power metal review. Well, instead of ruminating, I'll just get to it: this Jesters Moon CD is like taking a beautiful woman home, getting to the bedroom, and finding out she has a dick--e.g. it starts off damned fine and ends on a shockingly bad note.

    This disturbing revelation begins during track two, "Devil's Eyes," at about the 1:03 mark. It's the vocals, man! Think of Lemmy from Motorhead after about six bottles of bourbon. Now hand him a lyrics sheet and have him "sing" for you while puking and stumbling around. (Replace Lemmy with a sloppier version of the frontman from Anvil if you cannot imagine that scenario.) That is what this guy sounds like. The biggest problem is that it ruins a kickass, Sinner-esque song. (We're still talking about track two.) This hideous maelstrom of off-key pipes continues until the end of the disc--over some decent tunes, unfortunately.

    Track three--same thing. It opens with something you might hear from Overkill, and it leads into the aural insult of a worthless throat. It makes me shudder that this band, which boasts some great guitar riffing, does not seem to realize just how bad their vocalist (Bryce Van Patten) is.

    Speaking of that guy, what's up with the names of the band members? Bryce, Preston, Alvin, and Vido--sounds like an episode of The Chipmunks, or maybe a white suburban barbershop quartet.

    Sorry... I don't mean to conduct character attacks, but I am pissed off that grating, blood-curdling singing ruined such "crunchy" and well-written music. Especially with tracks such as "Devil's Eyes," "User" (which took a page straight out of Hammerfall's book), and "Man in a Glass".

    Despite the relative catchiness of this release, I would highly suggest that the drummer (Preston Hatch) practice more on the double bass. I have not heard a successful power metal band in some time that did not use it often, and I do not recall hearing it at all on this demo.

    So there you have it. Jesters Moon: drunken yahoo vocalist, mediocre drumming, but some killer power metal riffing. I may be kind by giving this demo three skulls, but this band has a lot of potential. It needs to change some key elements of its lineup, though. (I would love to hear this with, for example, members from Iced Earth on the skins and microphone.)

    Two word review: damned disappointing.
    3 out of 5

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