Beer, Bitches, Blood

Hm, well here's a band that doesn't beat around the bush. The album title just about says it all: Beer, Bitches, Blood. That shows you where these guys' priorities are, and I don't have one problem with that. It's a lot better than numerous other bands pushing out albums these days and fooling around without really ever saying what they really mean. Hospital of Death are a new Power/Thrash band playing music that sounds like it might as well have been parachuted up from 1986, with jumpy, thrashy riffs and guitar mastery that bring to mind the classic bands like Overkill or Megadeth, high pitched, melodic vocals, and a thin production with a really shitty drum sound. This is almost a perfect re-enaction of the 80s Thrash sound, right down to the little details.

Hospital of Death are a pretty silly band, but they aren't a joke in any way, shape or form, despite what their lyrics may exude. This is on the more melodic end of Thrash, with some tendencies of straightforward Heavy or Power Metal, and it's a lot of fun. The lead guitar-work is awesome, acrobatic, melodic and catchy as Hell, standing out the most on...pretty much every song! They all have some really killer leads and solos that will leave you pining for more. I think "Deathshed" and "Fear the Ambulance" have the most well endowed ones, but it's "I Am the Tiger" that wows the most, just galloping along at a fine pace before speeding up and then spiraling out of control as the riffs stomp back in. Just killer. Sure, the vocals aren't fantastic, but Dave Livett manages to inject an ample amount of fiery charisma into his metallic wailing that really makes this album a lot more fun to listen to.

Not every song here is good, with the opener "Down the Hatch," "Hogs of War," "Kicked to the Kerb" and the closer "White the Lightning" feeling rather underdeveloped and anti-climactic, but I'll just chalk that up to an amateur mistake that can be fixed with practice. There are also some really stellar songs here in the form of the anthemic "I Am The Tiger," the galloping riff mastery that is "Eyzerbeams of Osiris" (what a song title!), the infectious ballad "We Go Together," with its ridiculous lyrics, and the killer duo of the aforementioned "Deathshed" and "Fear the Ambulance." The Transformers theme song cover is alright, catchy enough, and it will certainly please people who grew up with that series. Even despite its inconsistencies, Beer, Bitches, Blood succeeds by virtue of its peppy classic Metal vigor and its unstoppable energy, and that is commendable in these eyes. Hospital of Death are a fine band that I look forward to seeing more of in the future. Hails!

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com