Metal Underground.com

With melodic metal, the struggle is to find the right balance between grit and gloss. On "Cry Havoc," Destrophy gets that balance mostly right, though there are a few moments spread throughout the album, when the band teeters a bit too close to the glossy side.

Ari Mihalpoulos is an excellent singer, handling both the exuberant choruses of songs like "Cry Havoc" and the quieter moments of "Still Bleeding" expertly. It's easy to see why those vocals are front and center on every track. On the other hand, the huge choruses in many of the songs take them into overblown pop-metal territory that anyone who survived the 1980s will recognize instantly. Take, for example, "Closer," which has an almost Journey feel to it.

On the grittier side, there's Mihalpoulos' work on lead guitar, with razor-sharp solos on "Misery" and "Closer." He's backed up well by Bruce Swink on rhythm guitar and Phil Tschechaniuk on bass, especially when the band goes into full-on rock mode on "Cry Havoc" and "It Ends Tonight."

The album's biggest sequencing issue comes at the end, with the power ballad "Hello" closing things out. It definitely has the effect of ending the disc with a whimper rather than a bang.

If you like your metal on the melodic side, with a definite dash of '80s influences, Destrophy's "Cry Havoc" is the disc for you. Though it's occasionally a bit too glossy, there are enough gritty guitar moments to thoroughly make up for that.