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Over the past few months I've discovered a few really good bands that hail right from my backyard (not literally; I don't have a backyard) here in Ottawa, Canada. Lycanthro is one of those bands.

Their brand of heavy metal is very much rooted in the traditional style, but with a modern production. I must say that a lot of the vocal melodies keep reminding me of Dave Overkill of Cleveland's Destructor. Lycanthro do not share the thrash style but, damn, I keep thinking of Destructor every single time. James Delbridge has a more melodic style, but the similarities are sometimes striking. Maybe I'm crazy, but let's not go there.

Musically, Lycanthro offer a mix of crunchy, striking heavy metal that shreds with the best of them, while throwing in more approachable melodic moments. Opener "Conquest" has a bit of a grandiose, epic vibe and that song just punches through the speakers and grabs you by the throat. Good luck getting that one out of your head. "Fog of War" is more straightforward (and the one where I especially can't help but think of Dave Overkill). Fast, pounding and likely one that triggers a mosh pit at live shows. "Plague the Land/King of Decay" clocks in at nearly 9 minutes and is a mix of a very solemn, melodic ballad style that eventually morphs into yet another speed fest with some pretty cool soloing. The closer, "Pale Rider", is the longest one at just under 14 minutes and features vocalist Jacques Bélanger (ex-Exciter). This one gets me every time as there's a very short pause that makes it feel like a new song is starting. It's as, if not more varied than the previous song and overall I like it better. Even though the last two songs are rather long for the genre, the way they are written with so much variety doesn't make them outlast their welcome one bit.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse may be short at just over 33 minutes, but it certainly packs a lot of variety without getting into any gimmicky stuff and showcases a band that does its own thing and doesn't sound like everyone else. Do I need to mention that this has been dominating my playlist for several days now?