Natur - Head of Death

Album Type: Full Length

Date of Release: 4^th June 2012

Label: Earache

Tracklisting

1.  Head of Death 8:26

2.  The Messenger 4:45

3.  Goblin Shark 5:01

4.  Decion 6:19

5.  The Servant 4:01

6.  Vermin Rift 5:20

7.  Spider Baby 5:57

8.  Mutations in Maine 7:36

Total running time: 47.43

Natur are a four piece trad metal band from Brooklyn, New York, USA.  Formed in 2008, Natur refer to themselves as “old metal.”   Head of Death is their debut full length on legendary metal label Earache Records.   Their debut follows on from their self released demo, Spider Baby 7” and split 7” with Hessian.

The line up is as follows

Weibust - Rhythm Guitar/Lead Vocals
Dino - Lead Guitar
Sound Mound - Lead Bass Guitar
Tooth - Lead Drums / Backing Vocals

Review

Given that my first introduction to buying vinyl was purchasing cheesy pop, by artists too embarrassing to mention on this here blog.  I take comfort that my father just happened to have Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Frank Zappa for me to discover.  Thank God! 

That’s the thing isn’t it? Music is about stages or periods in your life, that shape and guide us as individuals.  To truly embrace heavy music, it’s about the process of dusting down that gatefold, cleaning your vinyl and hearing the crackles of your favourite record playing on your turntable, listening intently with your headphones on.  Playing vinyl is about making the effort and taking the time to do something you enjoy, with the big pay off being that first burst of riffs.

So, when I pressed the play button on my iPod (how time have changed), Natur's music reminded me of such a time, Head of Death takes the listener on a nostalgia trip.  A time of bell bottoms and beer.  It’s just plain old school metal, nothing flashy or showy, just balls to the wall, classic sounding riffage of yore, with Iron Maiden esque dual guitars, explosions of squealing lead guitar solos with a raw garage rock flavour.   A tight and crisp guitar sound, with the droning bass and steadfast beat of the drums. 

Head of Death is an album written by students of heavy metal for fans of heavy metal. Natur have delivered an enjoyable and cohesive album with flashes of thrash metal gusto and thunderous lead guitar solos, they are not blisteringly fast but they fit the tone of the songs beautifully. The album has an impeccable variety of riffs and it never gets boring.  Weibust provides a powerful vocal delivery throughout the record and what is the strongest point on the record, is that you can hear every note of the galloped riffs.   Whilst the album is not blisteringly heavy, it is hooky and gutsy and fun and just addictive.  It is dark, eerie and atmospheric and at times it is just plain sinister. 

The album just harks back to the age of flairs and long hair and denim.  You can imagine yourself handling the gatefold.  An album made as a tribute to their heroes, an ode to their influences and a timely reminder of what it meant to buy a record on the day of release.  The anticipation of getting the record home and playing it for the first time, Head of Death makes you want to step back in time and remember where heavy metal started.

Whilst the songs on offer appear to follow a similar style, Natur are tight musicians and invoke a Gothic macabre vibe in terms of their lyrics, but occasionally mix things up with a  beautiful acoustic guitar breakdowns or an excellent guitar solo. The riffs are simple but addictive, however the album is just infectious and a delight in as much as their obviously psyched to be playing the music they love.  Head of Death is music to inspire future guitar heroes and a nostalgia trip you’ll want to repeat again and again. 

Head of Death is available now and you can check out the links below for more information about this band. 


Natur FB
Bandcamp
Earache
Earache FB