Lord Of The Burning Abyss
(Morbid Metal Records)
15:53min
A band formed in Chile, with two members of the mighty FORCE OF DARKNESS, can only be a good thing. A great thing… an evil thing. This is the debut demo of HELLAVENGER and with one intro and three tracks of old school Black Metal, it is all you need. The style is based in the usual suspects of VENOM, BATHORY and MOTÖRHEAD, but there is also big influence of the masters of Heavy, Speed and Thrash Metal, being it POSSESSED, IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, early METALLICA and early SLAYER. And that, to these ears, is just sweet melodies I can sing all day. That will surely invoke some demons in the way, but hey, nothings perfect in life… and demons do not sound that bad either. The production values are excellent, as always, with the exact touch of rawness and a merciless execution. And for a change, although I do like many newer Black / Thrash bands, HELLAVENGER’s style will fit more in the Heavy / Speed / Black Metal which for some reason sometimes reminds me of EXORCIST and sometimes of BULLDOZER. Simple, direct songs, excellent guitar work and the obvious vocals from hell in the Master Cronos style. This is actually the fourth time the demo has been edited, as the last editions are sold out, and as a demo, the tape version is actually the one to get (although a 7″ EP would be great). Now, if you know the quality of the bands these musicians play in, this is a blind buy. A killer demo and look out for new material. www.facebook.com/morbidmetalrecords
Julián "Iron Legion" Núñez