Noise Records and several Metal Magazines throughout Europe organized this contest called “Young Metal Gods”. The bands were required to send in a demo of their unsigned music and were to be a maximum age of 23. Dycrest, Persuader and Destination’s End became the winners of the contest and secured themselves a record deal with Noise and entered the recording studio with Piet Sielck from Iron Savior to record their debuts.

Persuader will appeal to those fans of both Speed and Power Metal. Vocals are gritty and remind me of older Blind Guardian around the time of “Follow the Blind”. Rhythms move along at a steady pace with aggressive riffing that grabs the listener. There is a distinctive quality of Iron Savior here both in the backing vocals and some of the arrangements, but it does not sound like Iron Savior’s music. Working with producer Piet Sielck surely shows and has its benefits. No ballads here, everything rocks hard and rather fast. “To the End” is pretty rockin with a variety in its arrangement.

Dycrest are similar to Persuader that they create some fast paced rhythms but not as aggressive. Vocals are more pleasing and less rough as with the guitar harmonies that compliment the vocals. “Made Me Believe” is moody with some piano and a somber delivery. Progressive elements are also heard and part of their style.

Destination’s End offers something even more different than Persuader and Dycrest, clearly a different style band and in sound, more modern, kind of Goth with the keyboard sound. From the opening tune “From The Mountain” followed by the title track these guys don’t have the same quality as many of the sounds from most German bands. Vocals are smooth and somber at times and blend with the overall music behind it. A different type of Metal sound.