A while ago, I wrote about one of my favorite bands operating as part of the traditional heavy metal revival, Spellcaster. Since then, sadly, the band has disbanded, leaving a

6 years ago

A while ago, I wrote about one of my favorite bands operating as part of the traditional heavy metal revival, Spellcaster. Since then, sadly, the band has disbanded, leaving a denim-jacket wearing hole in my heart. Luckily for me, Gabriel Franco (who played bass for Spellcaster) has forged Idle Hands from out of the molten wreckage of his former band. Idle Hands are still very much inside the traditional heavy metal definition but channel a much darker version than Spellcaster; they tend to err on the side of ballad rather than the epic proclamations of power that were Spellcaster’s stock and fare but, to be honest, that approach might even be better than the original. Head on down below for your first taste!

The key to this transformation lies in Franco taking over the vocal position for the band. His voice is way deeper than the range which Spellcaster hinged on, lending itself perfectly to this darker, more 80’s influenced vibe that runs through Idle Hands. The instruments follow suit, channeling darker and more subtle tones that echo Tribulation and other occult rock bands as much as they do Iron Maiden or Satan. But those classic heavy metal influences are still all there both on the opening track but maybe even more so further down the line, on second track “By Way of Kingdom”. At the very least, that galloping bass line should be familiar to plenty of you.

The overall result of these changes is a fantastic EP from these guys titled Don’t Waste Your Time. Hopefully, this project sticks around for longer than Spellcaster to keep feeding me my traditional heavy metal fix; there are few bands out there who channel it in quite the same way Idle Hands do and I wasn’t aware how much I needed this take on the genre until I heard this EP. Live long!

Eden Kupermintz

Published 6 years ago