''Closing In'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Early Man, released on October 11, 2005. There are clear influences from heavy metal bands like

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

bands like

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

. Mike Conte's vocal style is very similar to

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has ...

, while not exactly imitating them. The album also features another heavy/

speed metal Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...

attribute: aggressive, "don't fuck with me" lyrics, as heard on "War Eagle", "Thrill of the Kill", and "Evil Is".

Track listing

#Four Walls – 2:42 #War Eagle – 3:14 #Death Is the Answer – 5:35 #Feeding Frenzy – 3:23 #Thrill of the Kill – 4:35 #Like a Goddamn Rat – 3:10 #Fist Shaker – 3:43 #Evil Is – 4:27 #Brain Sick – 3:32 #Contra – 3:53 #Raped and Pillaged – 3:51

Critical reception

''Closing In'' received mixed to mostly positive reception.

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

appreciated the old-school

style, and the "galloping

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompanim ...

s and booming

power chord A power chord (also fifth chord) is a colloquial name for a chord in guitar music, especially electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly played on ...

s". The only negative stated was a significant degree of uniformity throughout the album, with only one or two songs varying in style.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

also appreciated the ferocity of the older style, but heavily criticised both the uniformity but also stated "''Closing In'' is numbingly derivative" with no pieces showing significantly originality.

Personnel

* Mike Conte – guitar, bass, vocals * Adam Bennati – drums *

Matt Sweeney Matt Sweeney (born July 2, 1969) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist of Skunk, Chavez, and supergroup Zwan. Early life and education Sweeney was born in New Jersey. His father was John D. Sweeney, a professo ...

– producer, additional guitars

References

2005 debut albums Early Man (band) albums Matador Records albums {{2000s-metal-album-stub