IndoctriNation is the 3^rd album from Atlanta, Georgia heavyweights Halcyon Way. The Halcyon Way sound is a combination of traditional heavy metal riffs and melodic vocals, outstanding vocal harmonies and the occasional death growls (which are used sparingly and to great effect). The band bucks the trend of completely harsh vocals and prefers to have melodic memorable verses and sing-a-long choruses from lead vocalist Steve Braun, who has an excellent tone and plenty of range and power to spare.  Song titles and lyrics have a political and patriotic bent to them (see Revolution is Now, IndocriNation). The album starts off with the melodic and super charged “On Black Wings”. The harmony vocals remind me (in a GREAT way) of vintage Galactic Cowboys circa “Space in Your Face” era, or for the new schoolers out there, Into Eternity.  

As a whole, I enjoyed IndocriNation, however, my main critique of the album is that it is too short with brand new material. There are five brand new songs; an industrial remix of the song “The System” and a radio edit of “The Age of Betrayal” from their 2010 album “Building the Towers” and an excellent cover of the Steel Dragon “classic” “Stand Up” from the movie Rock Star. I would definitely have given IndocriNation a much higher score if there were two or three original songs included. Anyone that loves aggressive, melodic heavy metal, check out Halcyon Way, you won’t be disappointed!

Rating: 7.5