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Four years ago I wrote my first-ever review for this site, for Cauldron Born's And Rome Shall Fall, so it only seems appropriate that I mark the anniversary this year by reviewing their debut album Born Of The Cauldron, released on a metal-starved world ten years ago. How time flies. Cauldron Born are no more, but they will live on in my heart as one of my favorite metal bands.

Born Of The Cauldron is a fine slab of old-school heavy metal in the definite vein of Omen, Deadly Blessing, Liege Lord, or Helstar. You get crunchy, chugging riffs, intricate songwriting that recalls the younger days of Fates Warning, and some fine wailing vocals, though not as wailing as those of David Louden on the third and final album. The production here is actually the best the band ever got, as while this is not as heavy as Rome Shall Fall, the drum production is light-years beyond the terrible synth sound they got on their final outing. Overall I would say the songwriting is about par, with a slight edge given to Rome, but these are still good songs all around. "The Sword's Lament", the killer "Imprisoned With The Pharoahs", and "In Fate's Eye A King", which is presented here at a slower, punchier tempo than on God Of Metal that makes the song work much better. Really, there are no bad songs on here, though "Crusader" maybe goes on a little too long.

Overall, this is a strong album of True Metal goodness with solid riffs and very good production that is raw without distracting. Fans of Cauldron Born's later works should get this if they can, but there's nowhere to get this besides downloading at the moment, as it is long out of print and the band members have dropped off the face of the earth, so there may never be a reissue. If you can find it, get it.