Alastis

Revenge (Century Media)
by Paul Lee

In 1997, the Swiss foursome Alastis released a solid yet average dark and moody metal album entitled The Other Side. I got to know it because I needed an occasional break from the likes of Emperor and Cradle of Filth. Thus, Alastis became one of my solid reserve CDs. I’d hoped that with Revenge maybe they’d grown, experimented with their sound, and improved. But sadly, Alastis has taken the safe route and stuck to the same formula that made The Other Side a good, but unremarkable album. Revenge would seem to be the perfect Goth metal album, but Alastis still comes across as a second-rate version of their fellow countrymen Samael. Every song on Revenge has the same formulaic, mid-tempo structure, and while they are fairly good, there isn’t a single memorable one.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)