Origin:	England
Genres:	Traditional Metal

Page online:	February 13, 2008
Last update/review:	November 6, 2011

Intense

This UK band has been around awhile, releasing demos as far back as 1991. They self-released an EP in 1997 but musical differences forced a major internal split soon afterward, and it would be seven years before a full-length album (Second Sight) would be released, followed by the recent As Our Army Grows in 2007. Apparently the band lists Nevermore and Iced Earth as influences, and sure enough, As Our Army Grows practically sounds like a cross between the two, featuring majestic powerful metal laced with the occasional thrash influence. It's all expertly done, with a polished production courtesy of Threshold's Karl Groom, though in the end it all sounds a bit too familiar. At this point in their career Intense seem content to proudly wave the banner of true metal without really exploring any new directions. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as not every band need be blindingly original to be good, though in the end Army belongs in the good-but-not-essential category.