BLACK ANVIL
Hail Death
Relapse (2014)
Rating: 7.5/10
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With their third full-length album, New York City black thrashers Black Anvil once again spits blue flames in the face of adversity and is firing on all cylinders.
For those not in the know, Black Anvil was formed in 2007 by members of hardcore band Kill Your Idols. The band released its debut opus in 2008, entitled Time Insults The Mind, which was a reasonable effort that was bettered by 2010’s Triumvirate. Now, after a four-year wait, Black Anvil is back hailing death with ten tracks (including a cover of the Kiss song ‘Under The Rose’) and well over 70 minutes of music to get your teeth into… that’s if you have any left after this outing.
Hail Death is an album that takes a while to get going in places, in the sense that there’s a few songs that initially simmer before attacking out of primal instinct. Vocally Paul Delaney has a caustic, black metal sneer which is complemented by the volatile musicianship around him, particularly the riveting drum assault of Raeph Glicken which is often delivered in precise fashion.
After a few spins I’m of the opinion that this is very much contemporary blackened thrash with hints of Marduk and the likes, chiefly in its frenzied segments. There is undoubtedly a whole host of melodic elements too, and these come to the fore on the likes of ‘Eventide’, which in parts is far removed from anything remotely blackened thrash. In fact, this is an album of modern design incorporating an air of freshness and intricacy, but in the long run it rarely offers memorability. Hell, there’s even a deep parasitic worm of punk that squirms its way through some of the sections, whereas in other divisions there is that almost militant, marching brand of black metal which featured heavily as the second wave of black metal bands transformed their sound into something more polished.
With that lack of memorability in songs, however, there is the other issue of the clean vocal approach which makes its way into a few tracks. For me, I’ve always preferred bands to stick with one voice, but if you can look past these injections of purity then you’ll become absorbed in such monstrous tracks as the nine-minute opener ‘Still Reborn’, with its catchy chug and hint of black shining leather menace. The percussion here is immense as the beats roll off the skins like black blood flowing down a mountain. Again the cleaner vocals come into action, not welcomed by me as they drag the track down, but these guys do have an eye for a killer melody at times.
‘Seven Stars Unseen’ simmers nicely in a traditional metal sense before taking on a steady chug, while ‘G.N.O.N.’ is another of those brooding numbers built upon a stark, churning riff and walks hand in hand with the equally stirring ‘N’.
Admittedly, some of the tracks on offer here are far too long, and because some take an age to get going they feel even longer than their already laborious existence, but one cannot argue with the mammoth doom riff of the aforementioned ‘N’ or the absolutely hammering ‘Next Level Black’, which runs for over 11 minutes and just about renders the listener numb. In fact, the latter is the only track where I actual like the clean vocal insertions which add doom-laden mysticism to proceedings.
Black Anvil are improving on each record and so one cannot ask for any more than that, but a little more urgency is required in some of the tracks which tend to drag rather than engross.
Neil Arnold
