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