Hierophant - Great Mother : Holy Monster (Album Review)

Album Type : Full Length 

Date Released : 26/3/2013

Label : Bridge Nine Records

Great Mother : Holy Monster, album tracklisting:

1) Son of the New Faith 2:15
2) Son of the Tongue's Prison 3:04
3) Son of the Four-Hands Way 4:36
4) Son of the Carcinoma 2:09
5) Son of Egotistic Love 2:58
6) Son of Public Castration 3:35
7) Son of the Cathartic Cave 4:15
8) Son of the Black Mirror 4:13

Bio:

Italy's Hierophant have been making waves since their formation back in 2010 and are excited to call Bridge Nine Records their new home. The band caught the attention of the label with their self-titled first album in 2011, which CVLT Nation called "straight killer no filler". The band went on to tour Europe with the likes of Deafheaven, Oathbreaker, Tombs, Pelican, Cancer Bats and many more, and made an intense and relentless live reputation for themselves. Now, Hierophant is gearing up to r...read moreelease their Bridge Nine debut, Great Mother : Holy Monster in the Spring of 2013. The band commented, "It is an absolute honor for us to be a part of Bridge 9's roster - it's one of the greatest hardcore labels, it has survived and is still around for a reason. It's a dream for us, and we couldn't have thought of any better conditions to release Great Mother : Holy Monster in. Stay tuned, it should be a great year!" Great Mother : Holy Monster was recorded in late 2012 by Steve Scanu and Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio and mixed by Lorenzo Stecconi and mastered by Alan Douches, and is an 8-song monster of an album and the band's most mammoth-sounding recording yet. New songs from the album will start seeing the light of day later this month - stay tuned to Bridge9.com for details as they happen.

Line up:

Lorenzo (guit)
Karl (throat)
Giacomo (bass)
Steve (guit)
Ben (drums

Review:

Hierophant are an Italian living nightmare, with riffs so dark and lyrics so bleak you’d think the sun never shines in their home country. They’ve been touring Europe, sharing the stage with the likes of Deafheaven, Oathbreaker, Tombs, Pelican and even Cancer Bats, and now we have their brand new album to peruse. This should be rather fun indeed… Their latest offering is a hammer blow in the chest for all punk metal enthusiasts: an electric shock to the black heart of the genre that sets a freshly-invigorated beast running amok in your music collection. And, believe me; this beast needs to feed upon your ears. Allow it.

All songs on Great Mother : Holy Monster have the prefix ‘Son Of…’ on each of their titles. Within each track there’s chaos, angst, rage and fear: each one a vengeful offspring wanting to lay waste to the entire world. ‘Son of Egotistic Love’ is a particular highlight of mine- starting out with a hacking guitar riff, it descends into growling, battering drums and distorted doomscapes, all the while vocalist/throat Karl is barking out his lyrical message like a magma-filled zealot. When the song finishes with squeals of feedback, you’re left out of breath, dazed, and with a massive grin on your face.

Before you’re even allowed to take in a fresh lungful of air, ‘Son of Public Castration’ slaps you in the face for daring to think there’s any chance of them letting up on their blistering pace. Shame on you! Lorenzo and Steve’s shattering guitars simply rend through the soundscapes like an enraged bear tearing its way through forests for prey.

To describe these guys as simply punk metal is a bit simplistic: ‘Son of the Cathartic Cave’ shows their musical variety by being a crushing, sludgy horror that slithers into your ear canals with a vicious intent to cause eardrum trauma: it’s an absolute beast of a song, reminding me slightly of EyeHateGod’s‘New Orleans is the New Vietnam’. Stunning.

This album - Hierophant’s first release for Bridge Nine Records – is just eight songs in length, but that’s not a detraction at all. Quite the contrary, in fact: these eight sonic nightmares are fantastically crafted, and leave you feeling breathless, shell-shocked, and wanting to mosh. I certainly hope that this is just the beginning of a beautiful career for these fine Italian thrashers. Great Mother : Holy Monster is an angry, triumphant record that any punk metal / doom enthusiast should be proud to own. Check it out, I dare you!

Words by : Chris Markwell

As always show your support to the band. You can buy the record here and download at the usual places. Thanks to Stephanie Marlow for the hook up.

 

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