You may already know the history of this underrated band, so I am not going to go there with this latest release. Suffice to say, with vocalist Harry (The Tyrant) Conklin roped in for this recording, you should expect a bit more epic metal from this Midlands outfit, who were part of the NWoBHM movement. In 2017, that release ‘Mourns for the Morning Star’ (vocals by George Call) they extended their range and hit atmospheric levels. Of course, many folks still hark back to the debut EP and release like ‘Dominator’ and ‘The Sultans Ransom’. As I said, this was a game changer. The writing on this new album follows a similar path, it’s more American as a package, but you can definitely hear the upfront influences of fellow Midland’s trailblazers Dio, Judas Priest and arguably the originators Sabbath (but the Tony Martin era). They are certainly giving the listener a good account of current trends.
So going further into the release, the metal rages, but the British (Steel!) tone come with ‘Vendetta’ with its Maiden and Helloween melody. On a similar path, ‘Do What Thou Wilt’ has a fond kin ship to Sabbath, higher tuned, with a section around 2 mins 41 secs to me being a slower and slightly augmented piece similar in my mind to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. This converges with “hole in the sky” melody in the earlier part of the song, with the organs/keyboards of course. Then we can move to the track ‘Redeemer’, this is modern Priest with some obvious influence ignition from the vocalists other projects. ‘Last Man Standing’ is a touch meatier and aggressive, the organs feature again. The chorus on this one is very memorable. ‘Sabbat Stones’…is very Sabbath, it’s a definitely a bold statement. The lightness when the vocals start is very cool. This is the only point I fell the transition of noticeable, perhaps they are from different source files. The organ is adding more passion in the overall arrangement, and a power scream here and there does not lose the magic. There is so much depth on this track, listen intently, in silence, there’s something very strong being delivered, the arrangement has something for everyone. They may be singing about the “sages” but that guitar gallop, that’s the sweet spot with magic fingers pointing to the sky as goes the lyrics. The music has you potentially in a trance and ritualistically owned.
‘Curse of the Gypsy’- has a cool story behind the lyric, the acoustic parts are crystal clear, quite Dio actually, the pace quickens, and there is awesome guitar solo with some sinister chords in the background. This is another example of Cloven Hoof growing into the song writing process, there is a structure to everything, you are not stuck in one phase, style, or riff etc. ‘Darkest Before the Dawn’ is where I really get involved. The galloping guitars, the presence of some riffs and a real spectacular metal feel. Conklin’s vocals let loose here with that accumulated energy transferred into the track. The guitar galloping man, I love it!
The band have something for their older fans, I feel ‘Frost and Fire’ would probably figure to the rigorous rejoice of such fans, there’s some real peppering in the vocals, it does make the band totally different, but the sound captured works and pushes the song writing; again, the solo, well structured, powerful and delivered with precision.
Overall, the album has growing interest, following two or three spins, you really get the music, the arrangements and the lyrical subjects. It’s a terrifically strong release, it’s an album, it’s not a one hit wonder single album. The band have really grown, in recent times their fans have, myself included. You can’t live in the past, the band have moved on and are making some fulfilling and wide ranging music that’s totally metal, but they are also attracting top drawer musicians to be a part of the history of the band. Give the album time; get the vinyl, the artwork is great too in that format. Bring yourselves to “The Summoning”.
(8.5/10 Paul Maddison)
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