1. When the Devil Comes Down – 03:55
2. Haunted – 05:16
3. Unbroken – 03:58
4. Take Me – 03:49
5. Straight Through the Heart – 05:11
Year of release: 2019
Self-released
http://nikki-stringfield.com
Nikki Stringfield is a young American guitarist, whom the public
associate mainly with the band The Iron Maidens (popular female Iron
Maiden cover band), in which she has been permanently performing since
2015. Her debut EP has just been released, containing five original
songs.
Starting the whole „When the Devil Comes Down” has something of The
Pretty Reckless from around „Going To Hell”. It’s a slow, marching
track, in which the drums are additionally boosted with clap-like
reverbs, and loops also appear. In the interview that I conducted before
the release of this material, Nikki admitted to me that the songs that
will be on this album are divided into two groups: those in which more
emphasis is placed on vocals and those in which the main role is played
by guitars. „When the Devil Comes Down” is definitely in the first
group. The instrumental layer is strongly condensed, and Nikki’s singing
clearly comes to the fore.
Immediately, however, we have a jump to the second category: „Haunted”
begins with a powerful wall of guitars, which smoothly changes into a
nostalgic arpeggio, embellished with an equally poignant lyrical layer.
The guitars are dense again, but here the individual tracks are more
noticeable, I mean after the first listening it can be picked up what is
stronger in which channel.
Speeding riff attacks with „Unbroken”, in my opinion the best song in
this set. There is a lot of rhythmic picking. The slower fragments are
again majestic, which makes the sound appear to me as a sophisticated
hybrid of Slayer from around „World Painted Blood” and Within Temptation
from „Hydra” regions. An interesting combination, isn’t it?
„Take Me” is another song in which the artist exposed her vocals the
most. It is a catchy song quite in pop-rock style, but unlike „When the
Devil Comes Down” there are no loops or reverb imposed on the drums, and
also the guitars are sharper. Solid power ballad.
In the last song on the list, „Straight Through the Heart,” Nikki gives
way to her Maiden fantasies. In fact, only the artist’s singing reminds
us of who we are dealing with here. If Bruce Dickinson sang it, you
could mistakenly consider this song as a recoil from the „Brave New
World” or any other of the subsequent albums era, from the period with
three guitars in the lineup.
Stringfield’s lyrics are typically „female”. You can hear that while
writing lyrics for her songs, the artist was inspired primarily by her
own experience. The instrumental layer reveals Nikki’s ambitions and her
desire to strive for perfection. As I mentioned, rhythm guitars are
dense and legible, while the solos are very diverse. Once they impress
with virtuosity („Unbroken”), and another time with balanced minimalism
(„When the Devil Comes Down”, „Take Me”).
You can hear that the artist has put a lot of work into her EP and
carefully thought out its shape. She proposed music that is accessible
but at the same time sharp (except for promoting the whole „When the
Devil Comes Down”), which could be liked by both Iron Maiden maniacs and
fans of e.g. early Taylor Swift. I would love to listen to these songs
live, I hope that I will be able to hear them soon.
8,5/10
Patryk Pawelec
