Band:	PhaZer
Album:	Revelations
Style:	Melodic rock
Release date:	June 2006
A review by:	Baz Anderson

01. Way Downtown
02. Wonder Girl
03. Revelations
04. Love Kills
05. Lament To The World
06. Benediction
07. We're All Silent Witnesses (To Be Continued...)
08. Revelations [Radio Edit]
09. Love Kills [Radio Edit]

PhaZer are a fresh new four-piece rock band formed in 2004 in the suburbs of Lisbon, Portugal, and play a melodic sort of rock full of confidence and oomph. Their style combines melody with harmonizing vocals - with some strong guitars and even a bit of funk and flamenco influence are in there as well.

The EP kicks things off with the very catchy "Way Downtown" showing off splendidly the groovy aspects of their music and also the harmonizing vocals makes this song stick in your head. Each track on the EP is different in some way showing off the different sides and influences of this band - "Revelations" has a more of a funk touch blending into the rock and maybe reminding me in parts of bands such as Faith No More. "Benediction" sounds much harder then anything else on this CD with very low sounding guitars and again having a good rhythm and groove to it as well as being rather catchy at the same time, the song actually sounds a little reminiscent of the American band Soil of a few years ago. Also the nice acoustic "Lament To The World" and outro track "We're All Silent Witnesses" show the extent of their musical influence spectrum with flamenco touches finding their ways in there.

When I first heard this EP through I was not won over, but even on the second listen I found myself enjoying the full CD. It isn't the type of music that I reach for first but this has won me over and I am enjoying it more and more with every listen. This being their debut record and only being formed two years when this was released the band sound very competent and complete as a whole band - very far from maybe the typical hopeful band after two years together. The production is very good indeed and as well as the sound, the whole package and CD are nicely and professionally presented.
The only thing I might be able to pick at are the vocals. They are generally quite good but maybe at some points can become a little monotonous and lacking a bit of true passion and emotion. I am sure the singer is very capable but it would be good to hear him really belt out what he is singing about and drag our attention towards him whether we like it or not.

Overall this EP is rather enjoyable indeed and shows the beginning of a potentially successful great new rock band. All fans of melodic rock should take a good listen to this, and thanks to the band you can easily take a listen to a few songs at their official site here.