APHRODITE - Orgasmic Glory
Two years ago Aphrodite took the world by storm with their incredible debut album Lust And War. Or that is what would have happened if people generally had a better taste in music. Nevermind, they are still alive and kicking on their sophomore album Orgasmic Glory. The band still consists of Jo Capitalicide who plays all the instruments, Tanza Speed on vocals and this time a certain Brennan Witworth on lead guitar. I tried to google but frankly didn’t find much, making me wonder if it is pseudonym of someone who can’t be named for contractual reasons.
The concept is still the same: the lyrics deal with ancient Greek mythology, which you usually expect from epic power metal bands, but Aphrodite still feel more comfortable between old school speed metal and brazen punk rock. Orgasmic Glory is shorter than its predecessor, also contains fewer tracks, although the average length of the songs has increased to nearly four minutes, allowing for more guitar solos along the way. Apart from that, it’s business as usual. I still can’t make up my mind if Tanza Speed is an incredible genius or an absolute dilletante. She probably manages to be both, with a melodic voice that not always can hold a note, and yet imbued with such an authentic punk attitude that you would be mad if she decided to take vocal lessons. The songwriting is excellent as always. Although the tracks are a bit longer than in the past, they still come with catchy choruses that will have you sing along in no time. Some tracks even surprise with different stylistic elements: Blood Of Aphrodite has a certain rock’n’roll feeling, and Europa combines Eighties US hardcore with proto black metal vibes à la early Venom.
My excitement is maybe a little lower than on the debut as the novelty factor no longer exists. At times one also wishes for maybe a slightly more transparent production, but that’s just a very minor complaint. In the end Aphrodite are possibly the only old school speed metal band that can conjure the rare spirit and energy that came with the two early EPs from Znöwhite in 1983 and 1984. If you want to know what it is that touches this sweet spot of metal extravaganza, I suggest you stop what you’re doing now and start listening to Aphrodite.