By John Bedard
If you can’t have fun with a decent blackened death metal album I think there is something wrong with you. The dark tones and themes are both serious and fun at the same time. When done well it can pull you into what is nothing less than a dark gritty audio adventure that is always worth the ride. That being said when done badly it can be a total mess that will put a bad taste for the genre in a person’s mouth for years to come. So, the question is how does Hell Strike’s self-titled debut mini-album stack up?
The vocals are exactly what I would want for the genre. The tone is dark and gritty. It has that far-away tone with a lot of reverb, as if screamed from the other side of a catacomb after gargling blood that is a signature of black metal and it is executed perfectly. It has that bone-chilling effect that you can feel in your spine and makes you want more. Very heavily rooted in black metal but then when combined with the music that is when things really start to stand out.
The musical style is closer to the death metal side than the vocal style making for a nice contrast between the vocals and music. The sound is fuller than what I normally expect with black metal but the composition still has a lot of the black metal elements. The transitions are harsh as you would expect for the genre creating that unease that is a cornerstone of the style. The tone is mostly heavy but does change and open up at times giving the whole experience a nice variety that is hard to find fault with.
If this is how Hell Strike has decided to make their debut, then we are in for some excellent music from them in the future. From start to finish this is a kick-ass experience and a must-have for the genre. It is perfectly executed right down to some harsh edges that make the whole thing feel rawer and adds to that dark feeling that is such a staple of the genre. I’m trying to find something to critique, but honestly my biggest negative is that I wanted more.
Pick this one up. You won’t regret it. This is definitely the genre done right! Your playlists are incomplete without it.
- ‘Hellstrike’ is released on 16 July. You can get your copy HERE.
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