As much as I love violins in metal and dig the folk element which some bands, Skyclad most predominantly of course, encompass in a brilliant fashion, just as much do I acknowledge that other bands, in fact many bands out there, have a hard time finding a balance and creating good, listenworthy folk metal.
Italian Caligula Jack are borderline specimen. The music in itself isn't bad. It's got energy and drive, and I like the way the violin has been included. It's perhaps not delivered with the greatest self-confidence and clout, but, hey, this is a fairly young band with the world in front of them.
The single biggest issue here is the vocals. Vocalist Gio sounds terrible. Just like it is the case with Alestorm, the vocal performance ruins it all. I can see from the lyric sheet the band has forwarded that the lyrics are in English, but, really, you can't tell when you listen, and as rough and hardy as the unfortunate singer tries to be, just as silly does it turn out.
There's a definite talent for creating fine folk metal somewhere down the line here, but, please, do something about those vocals!
