German thrashers Holy Moses return with their 12th and possibly final album, at least with mainstay vocalist Sabina Classen who has been in the front seat since their inception in the early 80’s. My knowledge of German thrash starts and stops with Kreator, and I will be totally honest that I never connected with Euro thrash the same way I did with American/South American bands. That’s just me and I saw recently just how popular Kreator were on their joint tour with Lamb Of God.
Downfall Of Mankind starts us with some cracking melodic riffing that heralds Sabina in. And what a job she does, part thrash, part death vocals imparted with a velocity and cadence that belies her age. This is a statement of intent straight from the off that they want to go out on all guns blazing. All the way through there is some fiendish guitar parts with drums and bass supporting. This is not what I expected at all. Brilliant stuff.
Cult Of The Machine doesn’t let the pace drop, changes the dynamic slightly but still hits hard. Again, you are drawn to the vocals because they dominate and completely fit the music behind it. There is a lot going on here, with the label of thrash band probably not fitting what they are producing. It has that technical feel but without affecting the initial aim of the song.
Order Out Of The Chaos, completely avoiding the slow third song syndrome, they continue to impress, with some cool phased guitars and foot firmly pressed to the floor. Invisible Queen, they seem to lean into Arch Enemy territory, with a mid-pace that would be welcome on Wages Of Sin, again with some precise technical riffing that seems to be all over the album, which has really lifted proceedings instead of it being just standard thrash riffing.
Alternative Reality then decides that standard riffing is now required, and just like the songs before its crisp, fast, and heavy. They may not win any awards for lyrical content but the actual performance on these has been top notch. The New Norm, maybe the slowest riff, and possibly serving as a circuit break before the second half kicks in.
Visions In Red, As if to underscore their approach this just flies straight from the off, full-on assault with slow guitar stabs underpinning the drummer playing at black metal tempos before a breakdown into what can be described as death metal meeting Slayer abusing the whammy bar. Excellent. Outcasts, it seems here that they are following a structure playbook and although it sounds great, it feels less organic than the others that preceded it.
Forces Great And Hidden which channels an Exodus vibe but immediately sounds like Outcasts in its approach and delivery. These two sounds not so much tired, but maybe the wellspring was drying up by this point. I must point out that there is nothing wrong with it, everything is there but probably one of these could have been dropped and it would not have affected the order at all.
Too Far Gone dives deep into mid to late 80’s thrash with a classic verse riff that evokes all that was excellent with that period. It’s not as technical or as fast as others before it but it has that feel to it, again it is like Exodus in attack. Depersonalized takes the baton from Too Far…and continues to run with a mix of styles to continue with the high standard we have heard so far.
It sounds more like a return to the songs that started the album, with twists and turns that show that technical skill without losing sight of their thrash roots. Through The Veil, ending the show with death-like bass line, they up the speed and just go for it. It has that classic thrash movement but with a heavy influence of death metal on it. A great end to a great album.
If this is the final album from Holy Moses, then they have decided to release an album that should be considered as a fitting end to a career that has spanned some 40 odd years in music with some incredible ups and downs. That is not to say that some prudent trimming of maybe one or two songs would have made this better as some of the energy does drop. It’s a great collection and if this is the final hurrah, then they have finished on a high note 7/10
((OHHMS)) - Rot (Church Road Records) [Matt Bladen]
The 4th album from Kent heavies ((OHHMS)) barrels out of the stereo with some horror inspired sludge/stoner/prog. Leaning more on the stoner/prog/psych side than just sludge brutalism, Rot retains it's heaviness but flexes the melodic muscle a lot more on this Church Road Records debut. (Well sort of debut, it's complicated, look it up).
If this is the final album from Holy Moses, then they have decided to release an album that should be considered as a fitting end to a career that has spanned some 40 odd years in music with some incredible ups and downs. That is not to say that some prudent trimming of maybe one or two songs would have made this better as some of the energy does drop. It’s a great collection and if this is the final hurrah, then they have finished on a high note 7/10
((OHHMS)) - Rot (Church Road Records) [Matt Bladen]
The 4th album from Kent heavies ((OHHMS)) barrels out of the stereo with some horror inspired sludge/stoner/prog. Leaning more on the stoner/prog/psych side than just sludge brutalism, Rot retains it's heaviness but flexes the melodic muscle a lot more on this Church Road Records debut. (Well sort of debut, it's complicated, look it up).
Having used their previous albums to talk about veganism and the environment, this one is a bit more playful inspired by their collective favourite, gore soaked, video nasty horror movies, similar to certain bands on the APF roster. Paul Waller and Stuart Day trading off vocals on the angular Blood Feast and the thrashy Eaten Alive, while Sisters is more progressive but still uses grooves well, Day and Marc Prentice's guitars playing in riffy harmony.
Kind of like when Mastodon evolved on Crack The Skye, on Rot ((OHHMS)) have levelled up and all it took was buckets of blood and homage to VHS horror movies. I kid of course, there's a maturity to this record where experimentation is encouraged, the twisted, backmasked bass of Chainy Rabbit on Body Melt, the end of of the spacial doomer A Dark Song built around Max Newton's drumming or the bluesy instrumentals on Swamp Thing. Another great record from ((OHHMS)), Rot is their bloodiest but most refined outing to date. 8/10
A Road To Damascus - Darker Places (Prime Collective) [James Jackson]
I kind of expected a band with the name A Road To Damascus to have a somewhat religious aspect to their songs, personally I’m not adverse to that as I feel that music is a perfect platform for relaying a message, somewhere along the line though that does get a bit askew but I’m not reviewing the Pop Charts and there are no songs dubbed WAP here.. fortunately.
This is Darker Places by A Road To Damascus and it’s chosen genre is, according to some sites I looked at trying to glean some information about the band, alternative.. alternative to what?
Its pop punk and whilst listening to opening tracks Siren and Pariah, there are hints of 30 Seconds To Mars and similar acts, it’s that kind of radio friendly rock that has its moments of aggression but not so much that would stop it getting time on the airwaves.
There are samples, effects, catchy hooks aplenty throughout the album, at times it borders a bit too close to the Pop elements of their sound and whilst I’m not adverse to genre bending within music, there are times where I wonder just how close to coming across as a boy band is too close.
Imperial Demonic - Beneath The Crimson Eclipse (Black Lion Records) [Erick Willand]
Symphonic Black Metal hailing from Northern Ireland's Belfast with a taste for polished bombastic Satanic glory that instantly brings to mind the early works of Dimmu Borgir and Dark Funeral in all the best ways.
Right from the very first sonic guitar assault I can tell the production is top notch and the vibe hits just right, fast and blasphemous. First track The Furnace is a blistering declaration of Satanic warfare. The guitar work alone is hair burning fast and with lead singer Andy Heathen’s howls the song nearly reaches anthem status. Ways Of The Secular Flesh keeps the speed and fury like an ever flowing avalanche, anti-god and unstoppable. Drummer Cameron Ahslund-Glass (who also wrote all the music and lyrics btw) blazes on this track with an unrelenting assault of savage precision.
The Path Of Night starts with soaring guitar notes, followed by the galloping drums that build into a proper mythic scream and ripping song. Everything I love about this type of grandiose black metal is here, the high production, the infernal blazing guitars, the hellish thundering drums and vampiric vocals are all high end, top shelf delivery. This song is alive with that vibe, tight and dangerous but with one flaw, it’s 7 minutes and 20 seconds long. I’m here for it but I can see how someone who’s not as into this as I am would lose it half way through. Song length matters people.
A drum fired artillery barrage heralds track 4, Dawn Of The Infernal Age. This is the album's grand Satanic anthem, the first line is “Oh mighty Satan, destroy my enemies!” Unrelenting buzzsaw attacks and vicious vocals tells the tale of demonic assaults under fire red skies. It’s over the top and epic and I’m hooked.
Title and final track Beneath The Crimson Eclipse is equal in its misanthropic bombast and blasting musicianship. It’s a fitting end to a ferocious debut album from this new team of blasphemous heroes. Again the song runs a bit over my personal time limit but I give it a pass as I’m not bored at all. And just like that it’s over and I go back around for a second run, one more song, a little trim here and there…
Even with those minor issues, and they really are minor, if you’re into earlier Dimmu Borgir and that Swedish sound then give this a spin. The great production, cutting lyrics and top song craft combined with some eerie, doomed city cover art by artist Luciana Nedelea and I have to give Imperial Demonic a very solid 8/10
A Road To Damascus - Darker Places (Prime Collective) [James Jackson]
I kind of expected a band with the name A Road To Damascus to have a somewhat religious aspect to their songs, personally I’m not adverse to that as I feel that music is a perfect platform for relaying a message, somewhere along the line though that does get a bit askew but I’m not reviewing the Pop Charts and there are no songs dubbed WAP here.. fortunately.
This is Darker Places by A Road To Damascus and it’s chosen genre is, according to some sites I looked at trying to glean some information about the band, alternative.. alternative to what?
Its pop punk and whilst listening to opening tracks Siren and Pariah, there are hints of 30 Seconds To Mars and similar acts, it’s that kind of radio friendly rock that has its moments of aggression but not so much that would stop it getting time on the airwaves.
There are samples, effects, catchy hooks aplenty throughout the album, at times it borders a bit too close to the Pop elements of their sound and whilst I’m not adverse to genre bending within music, there are times where I wonder just how close to coming across as a boy band is too close.
Paradise is a prime example of this, it’s a pop punk track complete with “nah, nah, nah” vocal lines that come straight from a Blink 182 album, as a fan of pretty much anything OTHER than pop punk this is a sign to skip this track.
There are moments on this album that delve into a more metal feel, the vocals hit that scream/shout that is common throughout many metalcore acts but those pop punk moments for me tend to ruin what could be a promising album, it’s as though at times they’re not quite sure what they actually want to achieve; is it metal, is it punk, throw a few riffs together and hope it hits. 4/10
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