Sometimes I just want to give
Racer a big hug.
This gem of an album
showed up in my email box and it has been bringing me happiness ever
since.
I didn't know they made music like
this any more.
Yeah, that means its a
throwback to an earlier time when metal was just getting its feet under
itself.
There have been many years and
some pretty successful bands that have laid the foundation for this stuff, and
then you get something like this that builds on that foundation.
If you're looking for the latest
and greatest thing in metal, its not here.
But Death Penalty have brought us what I can only call a NWOBHM
masterpiece.
Looking at the pedigree of
this band, that's a bit of a surprise.
This is the new band of one Gaz Jennings, who spent two decades plus as
the guitarist and songwriter for doom legends Cathedral.
The man can flat out write a riff.
This is some of the catchiest stuff I've
heard in a long time.
He's joined by
singer Michelle Nocon and drummer Fredrik “Cosy” Cosemans, both of doomsters Serpentcult.
Raf Meukens joins in on bass.
That's a lot of doom metal musicians but this
is not doom.
Most of this takes place at
a tempo that would drive doom bands insane.
What we do have here is stuff
that will put a smile on your face if you are in any way a fan of Iron Maiden,
who are unarguably the most successful NWOBHM band.
Not to say in any way that this is just a
Maiden copycat band.
Far from it.
But that is firmly where they fall to my
ears.
And there ain't nothing wrong with
that.
A careful listen also shows some
death metal flourishes, and “Children Of The Night” is a perfectly plausible
Black Sabbath track.
There are certainly
some touches of doom, in which all these musicians are well versed.
But this is solid, satisfying music.
The guitars crunch and crush, the drums are
just right where they should be and hit hard, and the bass lays it down, solid
and heavy.
The two stars of this release
for me are Michelle Nocon's vocals and the songwriting.
Her vocals are just fantastic and fit this
music like a glove.
Which means that the
songs were written for her and with her in mind.
This is just heavy music, nothing light or
“girly” about it. “The One That Dwells” is probably the best example on the
whole album of what this band can do.
It's a slower tempo track, and at times it's just vocals and guitar, but
when the whole band joins in it feels like a cannonball to the gut.
Standout tracks for me are
“Howling At The Throne Of Decadence” and “Eyes Of The Heretic”, both of which
are outstanding examples of what this band can do at a gallop, when they
unleash what they are capable of at up tempo.
“She Is A Witch” is just gorgeously heavy as it slips back and forth
between tempos, sometimes mid paced, sometimes crawling like a beast out of the
primordial muck.
The lyrics are great
and it moves so fluidly.
Probably my
favorite on the album.
If you consider yourself at all
a fan of what gets called “classic metal” these days, pick this one up right
away.
This is one of the better albums I've
heard all year and it just makes you feel good about this metal genre we love.
- ODIN
Comments