Receiver - hear ye, oh brethren, the call of odysseys from Cyprus

Receiver

Whispers of Lore

Gates of Hell Records

10 November 2023

After initially hearing this album I had a good feeling about it because the music sounded real. The band says that they do not use autotune on the singing. Therefore, what we hear on the recording is meant to be the real voice of Nikoletta Kyprianou. That's the sensation I got, that she is singing naturally with her own voice, and I like the sound of it. In fact, the music sounds like the band wants to be able to perform these songs live in a faithful way. For instance, listeners will notice that the rhythm section is vibrant, the bass lines are clear and the drums do all sorts of interesting details, when a drummer employs all four extremities for the craft. Metal Archives lists Loizos Koukoumas on bass and Yiannis Xanthou on drums (the band says that these are real drums, too), a rhythm team that provides the anchor for guitarists Charalambos Vassiliou and Andreas Kyriacou.

On the topic of riffs and leads, while there are lots of riffs for headbanging, there is also a specific melodic strain in the guitars, melodies that Thin Lizzy/Iron Maiden/classic rock fans will enjoy. In other words, while there is a crunch to the riffs, it is not all crunch and muscle, a song like "Arrow" is so smooth in its melodies, which the band calls folk melodies. Thus, Receiver uses "folk" melodies in the sense that the smooth melodies of Thin Lizzy, UFO, Boston, 80s Omen (U.S.; Metal Blade Records), some Manilla Road or some Iron Maiden are "folk." Lyrically, they work with concepts that read like stories or poems of personal or collective struggles, while keeping the IQ level good for all audiences, regardless of age, which metal parents with children will appreciate, as they are able to play this music as general entertainment. To conclude, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea there is the island nation of Cyprus, there in the city of Nicosia, you will find Receiver. If you, like Odysseus a long time ago, find that sailing to Cyprus is a difficult endeavor right now from where you live in boondocks of Walla Walla, this album is a fantastic alternative to witnessing Receiver rocking out in the bars of Nicosia.

https://www.facebook.com/ReceiverCY