By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 08/11/2019
Label: APF Records
“Hailz” CD//DD//LP
track listing:
1. Ex-Nihilo
2. Wreck
3. Mind Rotter
4. Fools Gave Chase
5. If I Was You.....
6. Strangle The Sun (feat. Elephant Tree)
7. Skin Your God
2. Wreck
3. Mind Rotter
4. Fools Gave Chase
5. If I Was You.....
6. Strangle The Sun (feat. Elephant Tree)
7. Skin Your God
The Review:
It
was with high expectations that I pressed play on this sophomore effort from Pist,
the North West Manchester underground
legend for the title and the contents herein only glimpsed via watching them
support Orange Goblin back in January, I
thought this would be a cracker. I wasn't wrong.
This
lands somewhere between Raging Speedhorn, Bast, Orange
Goblin and Sabbath. It's not really categorisable and all
the more appealing for it. Pist have carved out their own niche. They are
a brutal proposition live and on record they have not disappointed. Opener “Ex-Nihilo” has pretty much all elements
present and correct- big riffs, rolling blast sections, vocals of several types
and it all works wonderfully.
As
the album progresses on via “Wreck”
(ATG
and Swe-Death influence present), “Mind
Rotter” with dynamic sections and more unusual rhythms combined with very
catchy riffing and onwards, it's clear that the record doesn't stick with any
one genre for long and is best summed up as quality metal- there is some fire
forged blood running through the very veins of this album.
The
aggro-metal of “Fools Gave Chase”
gives way to spooky atmospherics and black metal type progressions thereafter. “If I was You” is a dark journey through
extremity and with only “Strangle The
Sun” and “Skin Your God” to go,
the record has shown itself to be richly varied and unique.
The
former of the aforementioned pairing is dark and dreamy- imagine Tricky
doing a metal track, perhaps? “Skin Your
God”, meanwhile, is a riff heavy beast of grooves, a dreamlike mellower and
a fetid blast of extreme metal by turns. Overall, this album has a lot of parts
and somehow manages to be more than the sum of them. Where Pist will go from here is
anyone's guess, but hopefully it will be out of Bury on a regular basis to
pulverise more stages. The British metal underground is alive and well, with Pist
making their claim as the best of the lot.
“Hailz” is available HERE
