Steel Bearing Hand - 'Steel Bearing Hand' (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/02/2015

Label: Unholy Anarchy Records

‘Steel Bearing Hand’ LP track listing:

A1). Disenchant

A2). Kneel before the Steel

A3). The Chamel God

B1). Tyrannical Shadows

B2). (Usurp) The Hidden Thrones

Steel Bearing Hand is:

Wyatt Burton | Vocals/Guitars
Jacob Chamberlain | Guitars
Alan Bancroft | Bass
Matt Preston | Drums

Review:

Death metal from Dallas, Texas. This is a quality release, especially if you are into your deathly delight in the style of Bolt Thrower. Opener ‘Disenchant’ lays things out for you in just over two minutes, before the Priest meets death metal assault of the superbly titled ‘Kneel before the Steel’. The sound is organic and rumbling with an old school sensibility to the production (i.e. a quirky snare sound and guitars that sound like they are coming out of a valve amp). There is an old school thrash vibe to the riffing in places (by way of Motorhead) so there is nothing not to like if you are a metal head of a certain persuasion.

The remaining three tracks are fast and furious, of course, but they also feature complex structures. After the first two minute track, nothing is below six minutes and ‘Tyrannical Shadows’ runs to nine minutes! Naturally, this means that you get your money's worth over this 30mins plus of quality death metal. Is there any reason to make a death metal album an hour long? Not really, and the focus of this release serves the band well. It is a short sharp shock of noise and metal attitude delivered expertly.

This is not brutal blasting death metal by any means; there is something for old schoolers here in the rhythms and approach. Put simply, this release harks back to the glory days of death metal, when it wasn't just mindless blast beats and unmemorable riffs. The closing track ‘(Usurp) The Hidden Throne’ does some different things- samples at the start is a nice and unusual touch, proving that the band are not just repeating what was done between 1985 and 1992. The track is, of course, a furious exercise in thrashing death after the opening.

Stand out track? For me, it is ‘Kneel before the Steel’, so give that a listen if you can and it will give you an idea of whether you want to pick the album up or not. Hear the riffs in that one and I guarantee that you will!

Words by: Richard Maw

You can pick up a copy here

For more information:

STEEL BEARING HAND on Facebook | STEEL BEARING HAND on Bandcamp |
Unholy Anarchy Records

Tour Dates

The Record Release Show for STEEL BEARING HAND's debut full-length is set for 27 February in Dallas, TX @ Liquid Lounge w/DECEASED, NEKROFILTH, EMBALMED and PEASANT.  After that, SBH departs on a month long West Coast Tour w/ TOLAR.  Dates and locations below...

28 Feb-1 Mar: Badass Weekend Fest III in Houston, TX (Schedule HERE)
2 Mar: Austin, TX @ The Grand w/ MOWER & SIGIL
3 Mar: El Paso, TX @ The Grynde Bar w/ HORRENDOUS MISCREATION, GIRTH, more
4 Mar: Phoenix, AZ @ 512 Gallery w/ TBA
5 Mar: Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos w/ APPENDIX, MORPHEME & KORROSIVE
6-7 Mar: Manic Relapse Fest III in Oakland, CA (Schedule HERE)
8 Mar: Sacremento, CA (TBA)
9 Mar: Eureka, CA @ Siren Song w/ TBA
10 Mar: Olympia, WA @ Obsidian w/ TBA
12 Mar: Seattle, WA @ Highline Bar w/ TBA
14 Mar: Portland, OR @ Blackwater w/ LONG KNIFE
15 Mar: Boise, ID @ The Shredder w/ TBA
16 Mar: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Glendale House w/ REVOLT, DEATHBLOW, more
17 Mar: Denver, CO @ Bar Bar w/ SCEPTER OF ELIGOS, more
18 Mar: Kansas City, MO @ The Sandbox w/ TBA
19 Mar: Oklahoma City, OK (TBA)
20 Mar: Dallas, TX (TBA)