When it comes to art, very little is new. Yes, occasionally a new bit of technology comes along to allow a brief semblance of uniqueness, but then everyone jumps on the bandwagon and what was fresh and sparkling quickly becomes old hat. For example, in 1998, when Cher released ‘I Believe’ nobody had heard of autotune, and the single was purchased by the shed load. Nowadays, what once took a skilled producer and cutting edge technology can be reproduced on a phone and uploaded onto the internet by pretty much anyone. So, you may be asking whilst reading this website dedicated to the dark and atmospheric, what does this old git’s rant have to do with this review? Simply this; just because something isn’t new and ground breaking doesn’t mean it isn’t good, and also, it may not be new, it may be new to the current generation, and that could very well encapsulate the sound of Hail Darkness and their debut album ‘Death Divine’.
‘Luciferan Dawn’ kicks off the magnificent proceedings with a thunderous lo-fi bass storm guaranteed to flap the flares of the most ardent fuzz freak when blasted out of a stack of amps, the production harkening back to the home made garage rock sound of yesteryear. To further reinforce the feeling that this could be a long lost discovery from the archives as opposed to a brand new release, the voice of the enigmatically named Jez has that same clean sixties delivery, telling tales of majick and mysticism that could be lifted from the fevered realms of Helter Skelter. Throw in pounding drums and a down tuned guitar dripping with riffs and the journey through time to the early days of occult rock is near complete. ‘Cult of the Serpent Risen’ has a lighter touch to the vocals, travelling into a more psychedelic realm, but with more than enough thud to have heads banging and hair flying, whilst the more ambitious dancers might try and throw some shapes not seen since San Francisco’s summer of love. This worship of all things retro continues unabated with ‘Hour of the Silent Rite’, a stripped back helping of proto-metal that could have been gleaned from a rediscovered tape of a Coven show of yesteryear, whilst ‘With Horns of a Beast’ with its jazzy improvised sounding opening and laid back singing just screams to be played to the accompaniment of a liquid light show.
After this freak-out the all too short acoustic idyll of ‘Hail Darkness’, a tune that could play over scenes of Sergeant Howie searching Summerisle for lost children, shows the lighter side of the band and their folks influences, all before the amps are cranked up again for the Sabbathian ceremony of ‘Goat of Mendes…Raise The Glass!’, itself followed by the one-two gut punch of ‘Coven of the Blackened One’ and ‘Azarak!’, each played with the rib shaking tone that was once the trademark of Electric Wizard. In stark contrast things get positively trippy with ‘Eye’s White Black Soul’, the gentle sixties pop sound being at complete odds with the lyrics, the addition of a sweeping organ evoking a cult Seventies Italian Giallo horror soundtrack, where the hero is staring into the eyes of his beloved just before a ritual knife is plunged into the back of his turtle neck sweater clad torso. Closing the album is ‘See You In Hell’, and I can only imagine it would be a fine closer to a live set, sending for the a satisfied audience with a promise of a dark return.
As I said at the start of this review, nothing in the sound of Hail Darkness is new, but what is new is the youth and energy they bring to the sound. When listening to ‘Death Divine’, I could hear so may classic influences from the bands I’ve listened to over the decades, but it is played with reverence and homage, not plagiarised. Enjoying as I do such current acts as Alunah and Lucifer, I think there is always room for more penis-backed (the phrase “female fronted” can just fuck off into history as far as I’m concerned) heavy rock acts, and Hail Darkness have staked their claim to be heard.
(8.5/10 Spenny)
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