...in Death of Steve Silvester

This album is more or less a compendium of metal styles from the melting pot of the 80s. It combines a slightly blackened feel (especially in the vocals) with heavy metal that alternates between doom and speed metal styles. The style is almost too eclectic for its own good, but it fuses nicely and helps to give the album a unique feel. It should also be remembered that this debut is from a band that had been around for over 10 years prior to this, and so has an authenticity to it that more recent retro acts cannot achieve. The overall feel is pure occult metal, with aspects of shock rock (in fact, they cover an Alice Cooper song on this album).

All areas of the band's ability and the album's production are ideal. The drumming is fine, the bass audible and interesting, the vocals unique in their snarl/croak, comparable to a much less far-gone version of Abbath in Immortal. Its production is very nicely done, with every instrument having a strong presence. Lyrical subjects range from monsters to other common horror movie situations - cemeteries, hangings, etc. The song lengths are slightly above average for heavy metal, and there are several ambient keyboard sections used as intros/outros and sound effects included which add to the schlock horror feel.

Black Mummy is the highlight of the album. It is dominated by a primitive, tribalistic throbbing riff propelling it throughout, emphasising the bass, and with a relentless creeping sound. The Hanged Ballad is the longest of the album, clocking in at eight and a half minutes, and is the most demonstrative of the band's eclecticism. The song in ballad form with minimal backing from the band, and is underpinned by synthesised strings at one point with a dreamy atmosphere points towards mellower moments in progressive rock. It ends with a brief chaotic sounding passage which comes out of nowhere and catches the listener entirely off guard (as intended). Murder Angel is more or less speed metal throughout, and while not being massively fast, the riffing and solo work sound absolutely blistering after the previous lengthy song.

The covers on this album fit in very well. I Love the Dead is given an effective metal makeover and a bonus track, Black Widow's In Ancient Days, sounds like a Death SS song that Death SS never wrote. The lumbering main tune, narrative vocal style and bizarre saxophone backing and acoustic breakdowns suit the band to a tee. The three live tracks are surprisingly well recorded, quite clear and with amazing unrefined microphone distortion on the vocals adding a nice twist on the album tracks (and sounding even more proto black metal than the studio vocals). They are worth listening to, which is more than can be said for many live bonus tracks.

Overall this is essential for any fan of 80s metal, whether speed, doom (ala Witchfinder General, Pagan Altar, etc) or straight heavy and power metal. Don't be turned off by the band's shock rock image, or their later gothic metal change in style - this album is the real deal, and is a lot of fun.