Band:	Pyracanda
Album:	Losing Faith
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	October 10, 2024
A review by:	omne metallum

01. Don‘t Wait For
02. Hellfire
03. Mouth Warrior
04. Losing Faith
05. Misanthrope
06. History Twister
07. We Are More
08. Spoke In The Wheel
09. What Builds My Pride
10. Hold On!

Aptly titled.

To all but the most avid thrash fan, Pyracanda is a name you are unlikely to have come across, or have only stumbled across owing to the bands the members went on to join, rather than on the group's own merits. To those who do know, Pyracanda are one of those bands who never reached the heights their talents suggested they could have done, with one of thrash's best, but most overlooked, debut albums in Two Sides Of A Coin. While 1992's follow-up Thorns may not have matched it, it suggested the band had a bright future ahead of them; alas, that appeared to be it in terms of recorded offerings from the band. While I doubt many fans held out hope for anything more, 32 years later the band have decided that the third time is the charm and put out a third offering in Losing Faith.

I don't know much about Chinese calendars, but 2024 must be the year of the thrasher, as there is a glut of new albums by bands coming back out of the woodwork, which is mixed news for me at least; I get to hear new music by artists I'd long thought were in the rearview mirror, but at the same time I'm hearing music that suggests that maybe they should have stayed there. Losing Faith unfortunately follows this trend: a pale facsimile of glories past at best, a glorified demo at worst.

This isn't saying I went into this looking to be disappointed; quite the opposite, I actively searched for positives, but at some point you have to hold your mud-stained hands up and admit that digging for a diamond in the rough isn't going to reap rewards here. The most evident shortcoming that will hit you near-immediately is the production work, a stripped-down affair that exposes the weaknesses in the music. Grün's drums are unbalanced throughout, with a snare that is too high on the likes of "Hellfire", while his cymbals somehow disappear into the background on "Mouth Warrior". This latter track also highlights the thin and powerless guitars of newcomer Pelkowski and veteran Vaupel. Combine this weak production with the poor songwriting on tracks like "We Are More" and, well, you lose faith in Losing Faith.

With that said, there are elements that hint at the band's former glories, with Muhs' harmonisation and vocal melodies on tracks like "Losing Faith" providing bright spots on otherwise average-at-best songs (though on "Don't Wait For", I constantly think it's H from Acid Reign). It takes until "Spoke In The Wheel" before you get to the first fully enjoyable track of the album, with the song matching solid guitar work with Muhs' melodies, It's a shame the band aren't more consistent with these moments, with "Hold On!" the only other strong effort on the record.

As a treat for fans and fun for the band to be able to put out a third record, Losing Faith does well; for someone who doesn't have either of these in mind, then Pyracanda is unlikely to convert anyone to their fanbase with their latest effort. Somehow managing to sound rushed and undercooked after a 32-year wait, Losing Faith is aptly titled.