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HUNTER
Rebel Angels Rise

Self-released (2023)
Rating: 8/10

How do you fancy a mishmash of Accept, Overkill and Metal Church? Well, that’s what you get from this Belgian act. I missed Hunter’s self-titled debut from 2019 but Rebel Angels Rise more than makes up for that.

Although at times the production makes the sound rather mechanical there is still enough grit, particularly in the vocal snaps of ex-Crusader man David Walgrave. A lot of tracks have that speedy Accept dynamic, but there are a good chunk of songs here not far removed from classic Overkill, Exodus and dollops of Judas Priest. It is a shame though regarding the mixing; it’s as if a great deal of meat has been stripped away from the bone here.

Tracks like ‘Wicked’ could really benefit from a meatier design, but even so the band drives, at times hinting towards Grave Digger-styled power trudges, especially with the darker eruptions like ‘The Knight Of The Black Rose, Part 2’.

Hunter is a band that isn’t afraid to approach the epic or the Teutonic, and the more I listen to this record the more I appreciate its strengths. I believe these guys have a really epic opus within them, so let’s hope they sort out the production. However, Rebel Angels Rise still remains a fine metal album.

Neil Arnold

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