"Barbed Wire Soul" (Peaceville) 6 out of 10

CARCASS clearly laid down the blueprint on the appropriately titled 'Swansong', and having laid them to rest, Jeff Walker and cohorts have expanded the sound for his latest venture, BLACKSTAR. So don't go expecting any CARCASS style death grunting.

BLACKSTAR do retain the complexities of the CARCASS sound, but "Barbed Wire Soul" is wrapped in a coat of different colours.This is pure heavy metal, a form of music from another era. BLACKSTAR write songs that are embellished in melody and style to seem a far cry from CARCASS' dark and guttural din.

Twin guitars drive BLACKSTAR onwards, evoking memories of a less daft JUDAS PRIEST, a touch of NWOBHM, (TYGERS OF PAN TANG, anyone ?) and a modern flush of MEGADETH (so evident on 'Swansong'). And with Walker's own vocal style coming on like a Mustaine who's been gargling with glass for the last ten years, they paint a vastly different picture to their past.

It may not be what diehard fans either want or expect, but it doesn't sound bad, and their heart is definately in the right place.

Jerry Ewing in Metal Hammer (UK)