Band:	Famous-X
Album:	The Famous-X
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	2007
A review by:	Raiden

01. Intro: A Perfect Fiasco
02. The Famous-X
03. Bullet Time

Style: Power Metal
Country: Italy
Label: Self-Released
Length: 8:55
Recorded: 2007

Line-up:
Stefano Droetto - Guitars, bass, drum programming
Andrea Marchisio - Vocals


Fans of Italy's Highlord may have heard of this side-project of Stefano Droetto and Andrea Marchisio before. I had delved into an album or two of the Power Metal of Highlord (and one from Desdemona for that matter) and when I was sent this demo of the offshoot named "Famous-X" it tickled my interest. Would this new "The Famous-X" demo be just like new songs from half of the Highlord band that could've been added on their new album, or would it be something different?

Well as expected it does sound somewhat similar to Highlord as Famous-X uses the same vocalist, but there are definite differences. For starters these songs are heavier and less keyboard-laden. The music presented here is still Power Metal but the guitar work is reasonably heavy and each riff is a prominent strong shred. Stefano uses a drum machine for the drumming in The Famous-X but he gets a very impressive and realistic sound from it. There's nothing artificial here, you'd swear there was a real dude behind the kit.

My favourite track on this demo would have to be "Bullet Time". Apart from it's obvious reference to Max Payne (you hear "Stand by, 10-10, investigate a reported disturbance at Aesir Plaza. 10-4 dispatcher, verify address... That's Aesir Plaza, repeat, Aesir Plaza" at the start of the song which brought back memories of the game for me!), the song itself is a good one. I find the on/off bursts of fast drumming and fast guitar work in it very catchy. It also has a pretty technical solo in it which is a fun thing to hear.

The drawback with this demo though is its length. It doesn't even reach the ten minute mark! So I think that the most use you'd find out of this demo would be as a kind of "preview" to any future release. Stefano mentions at Famous-X's website that new songs are being written so perhaps this demo will be incorporated into a new full length album down the track. So if you're really interested then by all means obtain a copy of this demo, just don't expect it to fill in half an afternoon unless you've pressed the "repeat all" button!