Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 23/5/2014
Label : Relapse
Records
Hail!
Death, track listing :
1). Still Reborn 09:09
2). Redemption Through Blood 06:44
3). Eventide 06:43
4). Seven Stars Unseen 07:50
5). G.N.O.N. 05:56
6). Until The End 07:11
7). My Hate Is Pure 05:02
8). N 06:50
9). Next Level Black 11:39
10). Under The Rose (Kiss Cover)
(Bonus) 04:39
Bio
:
The
Band :
Paul Delaney | Bass/Vocals
Raeph Glicken | Drums/Vocals
Gary Bennett | Guitar/Vocals
Sos | Guitar
Raeph Glicken | Drums/Vocals
Gary Bennett | Guitar/Vocals
Sos | Guitar
Review
:
Black
Anvil initially started out mixing in more of a hardcore flavor to the black
metal on offer, no doubt owing to the their past in Kill Your Idols, a hardcore
band also based out of New York City. It was a good start, to be sure. Their
second album, ‘Triumvirate’, left a lot of the hardcore elements behind in
favor of a more straight-forward melodic black metal approach, relying a lot
more on the sort of writing you’d hear out of a band like Dissection,
Sacramentum or Lord Belial. Now, we have ‘Hail Death’, an album which finds
Black Anvil throwing all of it together and adding new elements to boot. It’s
their best album to date from just about every angle I can come up with.
While
still being firmly rooted in the melodic black metal of ‘Triumvirate’, ‘Hail
Death’ is a much more varied album. Whether it’s the clean vocals and gang
vocals (!) that are all over “Redemption through Blood” or just a greater
attention to mixing up tempos and drum beat choices, there’s a lot more to chew
on here. The riffs here also feel a lot freer. I’m not sure that they were
holding back before, but when the moment seems to call for it, they’ll conjure
anything from Dissection to Witchery to Neurosis and there’s some 90s Florida death metal and 80s heavy metal thrown in as
well. Hell, there’s a moment in “Eventide” that sounds like it might belong on
a more recent Enslaved album. The key is that nothing sounds out of place; it
comes together beautifully.
I
mentioned drumming choices earlier; Raeph Glicken’s performance on ‘Hail Death’
is
outstanding.
He’s constantly keeping things interesting, using a wide array of unique beats
and putting forth a deep groove at all times. His performance sounds human,
which is an enormously refreshing change of pace given modern metal’s love
affair with clinical drum performance. You can even make out the accents during
double kick runs; it’s an utter joy to listen to at all times. His performance
is dynamic, and thanks to smart production choices, you can hear everything
he’s doing in a way that keeps the lifeblood flowing in each and every song.
The
same praise goes for everyone in Black Anvil. They’ve greatly improved as song
writers; they’ve learned to make the most out of little nuances that turn basic
transitions into moments you look forward to hearing over again. They’ve
embraced some elements that are new to their sound, coming from some of the
best parts of metal’s history. They’ve “matured” without becoming a less metal
band, which is of particular interest to me since that’s become a pet peeve of
mine in my old age. They didn’t need to become a prog rock band. They didn’t
need to ape Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine and they sure as shit didn’t need
to add any palm muting syncopated with kick drums ala Meshuggah and Fear
Factory. Black Anvil proves that you can achieve huge growth as a band, still
be recognizable from one album to the next and do so without
resorting to meeting the expectations of conventional wisdom.
All
of this is to say that ‘Hail Death’ comes with my highest recommendation. It’s
one of the best of the year so far.
Words by : Daniel
Jackson
For
more information :
