You do see some bad album covers every year but I think this one is my pick of the year – a dodgy concept that’s been poorly executed – it almost wants you not to bother playing it at all.
Never do that though! Because if you do then you will miss a gem. Russia’s Pokerface aren’t going to takeover the world this time but they have produced an album that sounds like a female-fronted Kreator with touches of Melodic Death Metal like The Agonist or even Arch Enemy. You also get a few guttural hints of Slayer for good measure from the formidable voice of Alexandra Orlova (‘Lady Owl’) who shines here. The best thing about the album though is the blend of some great guitars (boy can they riff) and melody.
Best of all here are the more aggressive hits – try ‘Blackjack (Demonis21)’ or the over the top ‘Jackpot’ which may be the go-to track here. But there’s also the wonderfully crushing Thrashy pace of ‘Creepy Guests’ and the power of ‘Cry. Pray. Die.’
You might have heard rather a lot of Thrash driven Melodic Death before but this is from Russia and it goes to 11…
