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HOODED MENACE
Effigies Of Evil

Relapse (2012)
Rating: 7.5/10

With so many death, thrash and doom bands emerging, and hardly any sounding interesting, let alone original, I have to admit to being rather endeared by the deathly doom of Finnish band Hooded Menace.

The band name doesn’t do them any favours to be honest, and neither does the image – they look like a gang of teenage hoodies on stage – but Effigies Of Evil, their third full-length release, is a ponderous, gnarly slab of a platter that features the quicksand vocals of Lasse Pyykkö.

The doom metal genre is rather crowded at the moment, but due to the lack of invention, and the fact too many bands seem intent on worshipping the weed, the scene can become rather tiresome and predictable. Hooded Menace and their squelching rhythms – constructed by Pyykkö (who also handles bass and guitar), Pekka Koskelo (drums) and Teemu Hannonen (guitar) – provide some respite from the Sabbatharian overdose we’ve been accustomed to over the years with all these dope-smoking bands. Instead, they vomit out an unearthly slow-mo noise that I’ve not heard since those dark days of Sorrow’s Forgotten Sunrise (1991), although Hooded Menace prefer a dirtier dirge, rather than speeding things up to a deathlier pace.

Those who’ve not heard much from these guys would possibly have been introduced to them via the ‘Evoken Vulgarity’ promo clips on YouTube. Thankfully, ‘Evoken Vulgarity’ is one of the album’s best tracks; a crawling mass of doomy chaos that features some twisted, down-tuned guitars, grubby solos and a foetid vocal delivery that barely rears its ugly head beyond a sleepy ooze. Hooded Menace construct epic atmospheres within their gloomy passages. I’ve always been a fan of bands that use creaky old film samples, and they complement the music nicely, and feature almost three-minutes in, accompanied by an eerie bass.

Another quality Hooded Menace has is their ability to play their monolithic doom at a slightly more uptempo rate when required, rather than dragging the listener into a one-dimensional elevator of evil that never shifts beyond a snail pace. ‘Crumbling Insanity’ is a perfect example of how the initial funereal doom sludge picks up the pace, the drums accompanying a deep chug as those gurgled vocals litter the track.

There are some excellent riffs on here. Hooded Menace preferring not to smother its audience with a dull drone, instead there are elements of a Candlemass groove, and while production is crisp, we are still treated to a batch of foetid sounding tracks that sound as if they’ve been wrenched from a bone-strewn coffin.

Some have argued that this opus doesn’t match the band’s 2008 debut, Fulfill The Curse. But I disagree, having found myself spinning this record numerous times, succumbing to the infectious weight and drool which climaxes with the superbly atmospheric album closer, ‘Retribution In Eternity’. This is more of a two-minute incantation rather than actual song, except for that mournful guitar wail, but it’s a perfect way to end this guttural cacophony.

Hooded Menace may not be the next big doom thing, but their churchyard chills are ideal for a night beneath a bestial moon.

Neil Arnold

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