Review by Vladimir on October 5, 2023.

Did someone say speed metal attack? In case you haven’t, well too bad, because it’s what you’re going to get today. The topic of this review is a polish heavy/speed/power metal band Rascal from Warsaw, which released their first EP Headed Towards Destruction on February 12th, 2021 via Ossuary Records. Get ready to head towards destruction boys and girls, because this is going to be a very fun joyride. 

Once you press play, from the very first second it is an instant speed metal attack as Rascal brings down the thunder with 'Headed Towards Destruction'. The music is consisted of your usual melodic and downpicking guitar riffs in the traditional 80’s heavy/speed metal style, along with your standard double-bass drums and high clean vocals. The riffing on the second track 'After The Sunset' has some particularly interesting bits of power/speed metal melodies and guitar solos which are reminiscent of early Helloween from the "Walls Of Jericho" era, while even the song’s mid-tempo sections remind you of some later Helloween works. Where this EP really takes the cake is the final track 'Kingdom Of Misery', which thanks to its heavy mid-tempo riffing and drumming, along with some harmonizing guitar solos, managed to create something remarkable and it in some ways felt as if it was a song from an entirely different band. Not a bad thing by any means, but that entirely different approach managed to completely exceed my expectations. Something that is really interesting about the songs on this EP is that they manage to produce a pure sense of nostalgia next to their generally great quality. The best part about this EP is that the songwriting is very dynamic and on point when it comes to oldschool power/speed metal with some bits of Judas Priest-like traditional heavy metal to spice things up a bit. The most frequent parts that you’ll hear are the tremolo picking guitar melodies which obviously take the better part of this EP, especially on the fourth track 'Hold The Line' where the tremolo picking makes you feel almost as if the drums are going to start blast beating any second now. That would have been indeed a tad bit too much but it would have probably worked like some unexpected surprise that will definitely make me chuckle. Another great thing about this EP is that it really grabs your attention from the first song and it makes you beg for more once it comes to a conclusion. The sound production is actually quite clean though not too pristine, and in my opinion, I think that it does the EP justice with the kind of sound that was used throughout each track. 

I have to say that I am quite impressed with what this EP has to offer and it certainly got my hopes going for a full-length album will probably be even better. Whatever Rascal is up to right now, I truly hope that they are preparing a one tremendous follow up that will make Headed Towards Destruction feel weak in comparison and win over many crazed oldschool heavy and speed metal fans such as myself. 

Rating: 8.4 out of 10