ALBUM REVIEW: Hooded Priest - "The Hour Be None"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/12/2017

Label: I Hate Records

This is doom metal that will appeal to anyone with a sense of theatre and anyone who wants to bang their head as well; there is some great metal on offer here. Huge and sprawling in its ambition, “The Hour Be None” is a doom tour de force and I recommend it highly.

“The Hour Be None” CD//DD track listing:

1). Dolen – Exiting The Real

2). Call for the Hearse

3). These Skies Must Break

4). Herod Again

5). Locust Reaper

6). Mother of Plagues

The Review:

Dutch doomsters Hooded Priest return with their second full length album and now with the backing of the I Hate label. There is no need for a full track by track breakdown here: this is epic trad doom. If Candlemass is your thing, Hooded Priest will be too. If you are looking for the more street end of the trad doom spectrum (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, R.I.P) then this may be too far towards history and fantasy for your liking- but that said, the music here is top notch so why not give it a go anyway?!

Six tracks of epic scope and sound are on offer, one track well over ten minutes and two well over nine! There are huge riffs here too- “Mother of Plagues” is just massive, with an expansive sound. My stand out track would be “Herod Again”- great riffs, themes and performances of biblical proportions- top quality doom with just a measure of traditional metal thrown in. Every track is a winner, the sound is suitably massive and the vocal performance is perfectly matched to the musical ideas. There are time changes aplenty as well; it keeps the tracks interesting and allows the song lengths to be worthwhile exercises in quality as well as quantity.

This is doom metal that will appeal to anyone with a sense of theatre and anyone who wants to bang their head as well; there is some great metal on offer here. Huge and sprawling in its ambition, “The Hour Be None” is a doom tour de force and I recommend it highly. 

“The Hour Be None” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: R.I.P. - "Street Reaper"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/10/2017

Label: Riding Easy Records

I don't expect it to usurp the likes of “Born Too Late” or Pentagram “Relentless” in my list of best all time doom albums, but if you want a modern doom rock album with lots of attitude and overdrive, then this is one you should check out.

“Street Reaper “CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Unmarked Grave

2). Street Reaper

3). Mother Road

4). The Dark

5). The Other Side

6). Shadows Fool

7). Brimstone

8). The Cross

9). The Casket

10). Die in Vain

The Review:

Portland's R.I.P. unleashed their debut on an unsuspecting public back in 2016. Since then, the press seem to have latched on to the quartet's “street doom” label as something new in the doom sphere. Truthfully, it is not. Street doom is as old as Saint Vitus and The Obsessed... maybe even as old as Sabbath! Any doom head knows the difference- fantasy vs reality, heroes vs heroin and so on.  Regardless of what genre tag has been ascribed, “In The Wind” was an enjoyable slice of Saint Vitus meeting Fu Manchu. With “Street Reaper”, the band have progressed their sound on by focussing it and tightening up the arrangements.

The one minor criticism I levelled at their debut was that it was a little on the long side. Well, the ten tracks here have solved that problem and the band have really delivered a muscular set of songs. Once again, the influences are there: Pentagram, The Stooges, Saint Vitus, Sabbath... and the aforementioned Fu Manchu. The spectre of the Californian state looms large in the sound and vibe, and gives the band a little something extra, a little uniqueness. A little of the desert and a little of the imagery shown on the album cover- four hirsute dudes rolling in a low-rider. It is clear that these guys are not from Barnsley, that's for sure!

The music is direct and punchy, featuring over-driven bass and fuzzed up guitars again. The riffs are simple and groovy and this really does have the feel of street level music. From the opening chug of “Unmarked Grave”, through the title track and beyond; this will get your head nodding. As noted first time around, it is great to hear a band with a singer and actual riffs. This isn't about playing really slow or being massively heavy but is instead more about the vibe and the flow of the record. There are nods to the gods via instrumental interludes like “The Cross”, grooving slabs of riffage such as “Shadows Folds” and even some more melodic playing here and there (the intro of “The Dark”, for instance, and the closing “Die in Vain”).

The wheel is not being reinvented here, but that isn't the point. R.I.P. bring a slightly more youthful swagger to the game- it's welcome as most of the really big players are knocking on a  bit now, to say the least. By the time of the seventh track “The Casket”, you will have made up your mind about the album. Personally, I like it. I don't expect it to usurp the likes of “Born Too Late” or Pentagram “Relentless” in my list of best all time doom albums, but if you want a modern doom rock album with lots of attitude and overdrive, then this is one you should check out.

With the last three tracks clocking in at around four and a half minutes apiece, the band close the show consistently, albeit using different tempos and approaches as they go- relatively up tempo, slower dinosaur riffing and melodic- respectively. The yowling vocals are more Reagers than Wino, the sound is never less or more than over-driven and fuzzy and the whole thing works well. It is an improvement on their debut and sets the band up very well for album number three and a possible rise through the ranks of doom. When are they coming to the UK?!

“Street Reaper” is available here

Band info:  Facebook ||Instagram || Bandcamp

R.I.P. - "In The Wind" (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 14/03/2016

Label: Totem Cat Records

This is a doom record, for sure, but of the vintage variety and with a distinctly American flavour. Retro in approach, satisfying in content, R.I.P. are a welcome addition to the great tradition of rebel outsiders which litter the US cultural highways; get your motor running: R.I.P. are here!

“In The Wind” “2xLP track listing:

1. The Scythe

2. In The wind Part 1

3. Tremble

4. Black Leather

5. Smoke and Lightning

6. In The Wind Part 2

7. The Tombstone

8. Bereaved

9. Brave In The Grave

10. In The Wind Part 3

The Review:

The Pacific North West has given us this trad doom/trad/garage rock offering from R.I.P. Instrumental opener “The Scythe” sets a frantic pace, before things settle to more groovy tempos with the title track. Certainly, fans of Pentagram, Orange Goblin and even The Stooges should check this record out.

With biker stylings “Black Leather” and a good line in song titles “Brave In The Grave”, the band have a recognisable schtick and play it as straight as they come. Even though some of the tracks exceed seven minutes, it is all very straight forward. Riffs that you could learn after one listen, steady tempos and vocals which are a pleasingly plaintive wail in style... in the parlance of another band of desperadoes: “Nuthin' Fancy.”

Naturally, “Tremble” features a cowbell and the sound is rough and ready with lots of distortion on the bass. For those doom fans whose tastes veer more to Uncle Acid, Demon Eye and so on, this record is a gift from the 70s gods. As doom becomes more about noise and less about riffs, it is nice to hear a band that have done their history homework and who have written some actual songs. I prefer the faster and more groove orientated songs on this debut full length, but that is just me; another listener may feel differently.

There is a sequel to the title track which kicks off the second half of the album and things remain loud and in the raw. The instrumental mellow-out of “The Tombstone” is a nice addition to the record as it lets up on the throttle and allows the final few tracks to really hit home. “Bereaved” has some groove filled riffing  which simply chugs out of the speakers, while the final two tracks including part three of the title track sequence(!) clock in over six and seven minutes respectively. If there is one minor criticism of the record, it could be a bit shorter... but then again, you get more for your money so the criticism will remain minor!

This is a doom record, for sure, but of the vintage variety and with a distinctly American flavour. Retro in approach, satisfying in content, R.I.P. are a welcome addition to the great tradition of rebel outsiders which litter the US cultural highways; get your motor running: R.I.P. are here!

“In The Wind” is available here

Band info: Facebook