• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

When I think KAT, I think about their excellent album 666, so what they've done since has always been kind of a letdown for me. This is also true of Without Looking Back, which sees the band playing rather cheesy heavy metal, the kind you've heard a hundred times before. That's pretty far from the evil sound of their early days. The music is very well played, so the album definitely has that going for it. The vocals on "Poker" remind me a little bit of Ozzy Osbourne, the song also having that slow dark side found on some of his later material. The songs are kind of catchy for the most part and most of them pack at least just enough metal to make up for the cheesy/commercial and overly melodic direction that the band has taken. The slightly gruffy vocals are definitely addictive, giving a rough edge to the melodic vocal lines that, while I didn't find them all that memorable, nevertheless invite the listener for a singalong. What I like the most here is the very old-school vibe that's a mix of '70s Black Sabbath and '80s cheesy heavy metal. Some of this stuff will take you way back, reminiscing of some classics of the time. Bottom line, Without Looking Back is a mixed bag that sounds a little disjointed and there's nothing inherently bad, but you've heard it all before.