Elegant Weapons is the brainchild of guitarist Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), and it was initially promoted as a new supergroup with Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG) on vocals, Rex Brown (Pantera, Down) on bass, and Scott Travis (Judas Priest) on drums. And what a lineup it is! When their debut album was announced, bassist Rex and drummer Scott were replaced without explanation by Dave Rimmer (Uriah Heep) on bass and Christopher Williams (Accept) on drums. Not that Dave and Christopher aren’t great players, but I think they should have clarified why Rex and Scott are no longer in the lineup, even though they managed to contribute on a few songs.
To be honest, I’d expect them to sound like a modern-day Judas Priest. They certainly sound modern with some traditional influences, but they maintain a balance between hard rock and heavy metal. They definitely have Judas Priest elements in their songs, as well as other British and US hard & heavy influences in general. Richie’s riffs are heavy, bringing to mind the lord of riffs, Tony Iommi at times, but he also adds various modern and alternative elements to the final outcome.
The power ballad (with bluesy touches), “Ghost of You”, is probably the best song on the album. Then again, “Bitter Pill” sounds too groovy & alternative for my taste. The cover of UFO’s “Lights Out” is okay, but it should have been used as a bonus track, for instance. “Dirty Pig” has a Black Sabbath aura all over it. “Blind Leading the Blind” is a cool Priest-like song, and the same goes for “Do or Die”. “Downfall Rising” is another really good, hard & heavy track. Other than that, the rest of the songs are rather generic without having any strong melodies. They sound too flat at times. When you have a vocalist like Ronnie, the first thing that you should have is great melodies, apart from anything else.
The production is tight, heavy, and powerful. The album was produced by Richie Faulkner, and it was engineered, mixed, mastered, and co-produced by Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Accept, Amon Amarth, Nevermore, Opeth, etc.). The sound is rich and full-bodied, with a perfect balance between heaviness and grooviness.
Without being a bad album or anything, “Horns for a Halo” is a mixed bag for me. It has its moments, but it’s nothing short of extraordinary. Of course, this album wouldn’t have gotten such publicity or praise if it had been released by a new band without having any famous musicians in its ranks… and that’s the damn truth!
