Chile’s Lucifer’s Hammer have stepped up their game for this new release. Since their ‘Night Sacrifice’ demo from 2013, they have been one of the better quality traditional metal purveyors from South America, and worldwide for that matter. If you take the band as an unknown, they defy “trends” and create their own music based on the teachings of Iron Maiden and King Diamond. Straight away, I would highlight the precise and varied arrangements. The production was the main thing that stood out for me on this release. It’s really vibrant and clearly when I was reading the associated PR material, this was actually a focus for the band. The results thus prove success is achieved.
For me, ‘Forest of Tar Tac’ stands out on its own. Reminiscent of some of the most classic of classic metal releases, the time changes and storytelling is first class. That vibrancy I mentioned earlier comes to fruition also. It remains unique, I don’t feel the band are trying to be amongst the crowd, they are definitely individual. At just over 31 minutes, the release finishes too quickly for me, that said. There is no point hanging onto songs in terms of duration for the sake of it. That quickly leads to complacency in my book. Lucifer’s Hammer know the limit of song endurance and have crafted accordingly.
You have the softer aspects included on ‘I Believe in You’, with some awesome guitar gallops and melodic vocal tones. But the metal spike is truly impaled with ‘The Winds of Destiny’ which reminds me somewhat of the early Swedish scene, it has “that” feel. ‘All Stories Come to an End’ is another galloping metal assault, there are appropriate augmentations to the traditional instruments included in the mix also.
To compare to earlier releases doesn’t seem fair, the whole presence of the band has stepped up a level, but fear not, they haven’t changed completely, they have simply mastered what they do and have been able to portray that in the studio.
Overall, Lucifer’s Hammer have really raised their game and have an album that is sure to feature in many applauding lists come the end of the year. If you want a metal album devoid of hype and containing substance, this is the one to get.
(9/10 Paul Maddison)
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