Review: Hellbringer - Forgery

I picked this release up at one of the bands shows when they were known as Forgery, but since then they have been signed to Iron Pegasus and as a result changed their name to Hellbringer so for the duration of this review I shall refer to the band as Hellbringer. This excellent collection of 6 classic style thrash songs was mastered by Harris Johns who is known for his previous work with Coroner, Kreator, Sodom and a bunch of other well known bands which has really worked in Hellbringer's favour. The overall sound of this record is awesome, the guitar tone is raw and powerful and really suits the style they are playing.

The record begins on an epic level with a short intro consisting of chanting and bells ringing out alongside other ambient sounds. As soon as the first riff of the title track 'Hellbringer' rings out, you know this is going be a fun ride down the old school thrash road. This record is certainly in the vein of most old thrash bands, and I'm sure if you're a fan of any or all of those bands I could mention, you would certainly enjoy this. 'The Banished' is a song I swear slayer could have conceived back in the day, particularly with the opening riff which instantly made me think of them for some reason. The vocals are very much suited to the style here too, with what you may consider to be the typical sort of thrash 'scream/growl'.

Each track is solid, fast and certainly played well by Hellbringer. The final song 'The Hammer' starts off sounding like an inversion of Unleashed's 'The Immortals' which was created well before Hellbringer were even thought to exist. Though the originality of their music is questionable, keep in mind that they are playing a genre that has endured many bands already and though they may carry a sound similar to countless other bands, they have added their own twist to the music which makes it very listenable and memorable.

Hellbringer's debut EP is a great introduction to the band, and of this is anything to go by, they are sure to get even better as they grow. Forgery is available for order from the band's Myspace page.


Album: Forgery
Year: 2009
Label: Inedependant
Country: Australia

Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. Hellbringer
3. The Banished
4. The Rapture
5. Spawns Of The Void
6. The Hammer

www.myspace.com/hellbringeraus

This review is also on Voltage Media.
Review by Mat

The Third Degree - Redmist Destruction

This weeks "The Third Degree" is with Dawson and Ryan, guitarists with English thrashers Redmist Destruction.

T. - How long have you been playing together?

Dawson - I and Ryan have always jammed and learnt music together but it wasn’t until October 2008 we had a practise as a full band. We turned down going to see Municipal Waste and wrote a couple of songs instead. We’ve been active since Nov 2009.

T. - How did you meet?

Dawson - The local music scene and previous bands we were all in. Ryan’s known John since they were 4 years old however.

T. - What kind of gear do you use?

Dawson - We use Ltd/Esp guitars, Peavy and Engl guitar heads, Marshall Cabinets, Warwick Bass and Tama drums.

T. - Is there an album that inspired you to join a band?

Ryan - We’re not gonna make out we’re hard as f**k and say “Reign in Blood” by Slayer or “Master of Puppets” haha, despite them being influences. But the albums that made us want to be in a band were for me “The Offspring – Americana”.

Dawson - “Green Day – Dookie.” I was 10 at the time.

T. - What was the last album you bought?

Ryan - August Burns Red – Constellations.

Dawson – Make Do And Mend – Bodies Of Water

T. - What do you think of downloading music?

Dawson - I download music all the time! I don’t see a problem with it seen as half the bands I listen to encourage it. I support every band I listen to if I don’t buy their album, I’ll buy heaps of merch instead.

Ryan - I don’t mind, but I always buy albums more than download them.

T. - Who would you say was your personal biggest influence?

Dawson - Musically, my personal biggest influence is a band called As I Lay Dying, they’ve been my favourite band for as long as I’ve been into metal.

Ryan - Slayer.

T. - If you could trade places with another musician for a day, who would it be and why?

Dawson - For me, probably James Hetfield just to have that control over huge crowds, and to front the biggest metal band in the world!

Ryan - Same haha. When you can make 80,000+ people do whatever you want... I’d think that would be fun to do for the day.

T. - If you weren’t playing in a band, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

Dawson - I actually don’t know cos it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’d probably just be wishing I was in a band.

Ryan - I would continue training to be a biomedical scientist doing a s**tty 9-5.

T. - Where do you think the best metal is coming from at the moment?

Dawson - I actually have no idea, it depends what we hear and what we like. There are too many awesome bands to say a certain place. I can only say Earth!

T. - If you could only eat one kind of food, would it be savoury or sweet?

Dawson - Savoury, I f**king love crisps way too much. Chocolate and s**t gets boring.

T. - What’s your favourite movie?

Dawson - Power Rangers the Movie or Wayne’s World 1!

Ryan - Terminator 2 – ALWAYS NUMBER 1.

T. - What was the last live show you went to (not including your own)?

Ryan - I saw our friends in While She Sleeps at the Plug in Sheffield the other day at their album launch.

Dawson - I saw my friends band Summerlin in Leeds last.

T. - What do you have lined up next?

Dawson - Tour and a show with Bonded By Blood prior to that. We’ve nearly finished our album so that should be complete soon.

T. - Why should people check out your band?

Dawson - Because we’re genuine about doing what we do and aim to be at the forefront of UK thrash in the future! We have a laugh and encourage people to come head bang and hang out with us. We’re not d**kheads either! You’ll get a free CD to prove it!

For more information on the band, and to see where you can catch them on tour in the UK, head on over to their Myspace page at:
www.myspace.com/redmistdestruction

Hannah

The Third Degree - Facehandle

This weeks "The Third Degree" is with Jam, vocalist and lead guitarist for Scottish punks Facehandle.

T. - How long have you been playing together?

Jam - About 2 years, I doubt anyone in the band can remember exactly when we started.

T. - How did you meet?

Jam - We all met through a love of punk rock and getting mashed.

T. - Is there an album that inspired you to join a band?

Jam - Nah, not really. Just love making noise eh.

T. - What was the last album you bought?

Jam - Facehandle by Facehandle

T. - What do you think of downloading music?

Jam - I think even though people download music there's still enough people out there buying the albums to make up for the loss of money. It’s not about the money anyway.

T. - Who would you say was your personal biggest influence?

Jam - Life, my mates and family......and probably Leatherface.

T. - If you could trade places with another musician for a day, who would it be and why?

Jam - Myself cause I wonder what it's like to be him.

T. - If you weren’t playing in a band, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

Jam - Flinging myself about and slavering on myself.

T. - Where do you think the best metal/alternative rock is coming from at the moment?

Jam - Edinburgh's scene is alright, Glasgow too. I know there are good things happening down south like Wales and Manchester.

T. - If you could only eat one kind of food, would it be savoury or sweet?

Jam - Savoury, I'm sweet enough.

T. - What would you do if someone gave you a dildo to sign?

Jam - Stick it up my arse and sign it in s**t.

T. - What’s your favourite movie?

Jam - Blade Runner. "TIME TO DIE!!!!!"

T. - What was the last live show you went to (not including your own)?

Jam - It'll have been a local band like SPAT or DADDY NO. Last big show I was at was GBH.

T. - What do you have lined up next?

Jam - Cramond Island of Punk on August 14th, few other gigs comin up too, check our page www.myspace.com/facehandle.

T. - Why should people check out your band?

Jam - Coz we like to have a laugh. Catchy songs and we'll make yer eyes bleed. 1 2 3 AAAAAH!

Facehandle will also be playing Sneaky Petes in Edinburgh on the 2nd of September, Banshee Labyrinth (also in Edinburgh) on the 23rd and Mucky Mulligans in Perth on the 24th. For more information on the band, head over to their Myspace page at: www.myspace.com/facehandle

Hannah

Review: Bleakwood - Blood & Faith 7" (2010)

Bleakwood is a one man black metal band from Sydney, Australia conceived by Dan Nahum (Ironwood, Sword Toward Self, Infinitum, Greed & Rapacity). Blood & Faith is Bleakwood's second release (if you count the previous demo cd) - and a very limited one at that as a 7" vinyl of only 150 hand numbered pressings. The fact that this release is on vinyl only may seem like a drawback, however with it was included a link to download the songs as MP3s - which in my opinion is awesome since as a collector I can leave the vinyl unplayed and mint!

Blood & Faith is the first of the two songs on this release followed by Disruption Hymn, and as to be expected there is no farting around here. This is straight up black metal chaos! Both songs display a great display of talent through all instruments, which for a one guy band is quite impressive. But forgetting that this is only one guy - the music itself is really quite unlike most black metal I have heard (such as Immortal, Hades, Burzum and the like). Unlike the mentioned bands, it doesn't have the (comparatively) simple structures/riffs or drum beats you'd come to expect from the genre. It is rather tense, yet aggressive, with the use of dissonance and odd counter melodies, which I find makes this so unique and interesting.

It is still heavily based on uber fast tremolo picked riffs that tend to blend into noise, though the guitar sound still allows you to hear the riff as opposed to not - and it does have some nice 'breakdowns' so to speak. Disruption Hymn features a really cool section towards the end which brings the attention to the string section; which initially blends in quite well with the guitars and bass. It's a rather tense and unsettling section - mostly void of guitar - which builds itself up to an abrupt and chaotic ending for such a short display of musical proficiency.

Though this release lacks in quantity with both songs being under 4 minutes in length; I find this is made up to the listener with the quality and intriguing aspects of these songs. Bleakwood is a band I'd highly recommend to anyone after something differently awesome in metal.

You can check it out for yourself on Bleakwood's Myspace page where there are excerpts from each track and the Bleakwood Demo in its entirety.

http://www.myspace.com/bleakwood

Mat