By Jonny Bakes
Audrey Horne is a band that I discovered through a slightly unusual route… It was purely because Johan Hegg starred in their video for ‘Out Of The City’ alongside his wife Maria. But while I may have come for the Hegg, I stayed for the tunes as I ended up completely hooked on it to the point that it still gets played regularly now, nearly 10 years later! That moment led me down a bit of a rabbit hole where I started to uncover more Audrey Horne gems as I got sucked into their brand of catchy classic rock influenced rock. So naturally when I caught wind of a new release from these Norwegian rockers, I jumped at the chance to get an early listen!
‘Devil’s Bell’ is the seventh outing for Audrey Horne and is full of all the hallmarks I’ve come to expect. Absolutely packed to the rafters with catchy melodies that draw influence from the likes of Judas Priest, Slayer, Ozzy and many more icons of the past few decades, this album had me hooked from the outset. Essentially, it’s a modern-day stadium rock album, with every track being deserving of a huge audience belting out the choruses with “whoah-ohs” galore. Considering the black metal beginnings of the band (with past and present members hailing from Enslaved and Gorgoroth), this is a very different direction, but it has absolutely paid off for Audrey Horne as they’ve mastered the art of catchy, energetic anthems!
The album launches out of the blocks with ‘Ashes to Ashes’ which opens with a foreboding guitar solo and a lengthy bit of foreplay before launching into galloping melody. Of course, this wouldn’t be Audrey Horne without a catchy chorus, and this song is no exception. It didn’t take long before I caught myself singing along to it, reinforcing that feeling that Audrey Horne really do deserve to be packing out stadiums! With this setting the tone for the album, it’s pretty clear that you’re in for an absolute belter.
‘Break Out’ is another stand out track that immediately grabs your attention with the 80s Ozzy similarities. And that’s a pretty all-encompassing description of the song to be fair, it’s almost like it’s dropped straight out of a time rift and onto the tracklist. Again, it’s a ridiculously catchy guitar riff and an easy to remember chorus making it the perfect recipe for an earworm that’ll stick with you long after the album has finished.
‘Danse Macabre’ (note the different spelling – not to be confused with the Ghost track) also deserves an individual mention. Yet another helping of 70s/80s nostalgia served with serious flair that bounced around my head for hours after I heard it. The harmonised guitars in this are simply exquisite and I can easily see thousands of people screaming “Dance with me” in unison.
In all honesty, I probably could have written an individual glowing review of each track on ‘Devil’s Bell’ but let’s face it, you don’t want to read all of that. Instead, what you need to do is bag yourself a copy of the album when it comes out on Friday, crack open a crate of beers with your mates and just have a fucking great time. Audrey Horne has delivered something that is perfect for stadium performances, yet great for small parties too. Hell, I can see the title track becoming a staple in rock clubs across the Über Kingdom (at least it will if I have anything to do with it!). For me, ‘Devil’s Bell’ is another smash hit from a band with serious pedigree and, if I hadn’t already been a fan of Audrey Horne, this would have easily sealed the deal.
- ‘Devil’s Bell’ is released on Friday (22 April). You can get your copy HERE.
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