"HOD does not stand for anything, it is the anglicized version on the god HODR, the blind god of darkness and winter"… that’s what HOD guitarist Carl "Lord Necron" Snyder told me, when I asked him about the meaning of the band’s name. I personally had expected it to be some sort of abbreviation and in that respect already came up with rather stupid ideas like "Hall Of Death", "Hate Or Die" or something like that… Well, luckily I was wrong. This unholy five-piece, that has been around since January 2007 now, comprises of two rather wellknown names in the Black / Death Metal underground. Carl himself should of course be known because of his involvement in THORNSPAWN (a band that he left in order to concentrate full time on HOD), while Bjorn Haga – the band’s other guitarplayer – used to be part of the godly NECROVORE! HOD’s line-up gets completed by drummer Dennis Sanders (who previously played in EXCULCERATE), bassplayer Derick Rivers (who used to be a member of the infamous GG ALLIN touring band) and vocalist Beer Reebs, who was the frontman for PILLCRUSHER and RANCID VAT. The 3 songs on this promo offer a hellish mixture of raw, blackened Thrash with some elements of classic Speed Metal (the latter perfectly reflected in the song ‘Demoralizer’), while the vocals are in an extremely convincing, Nocturno Culto type grim style. In direct comparision to Carl’s previous band THORNSPAWN, HOD is a little bit more controlled and not as furious, but nevertheless very deadly in their overall musical approach. More variation / diversity is the major keyword here. Because of the overall high quality of this promo (let alone the reputation of the members involved), I bet we will get to hear a full length by Texas’ newest unholy horde pretty quickly! More info and sound samples at: www.myspace.com/hodtheband