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░ ██ ██ Artist: Damnations Hammer ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Disciples of the Hex █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2013 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-11-13 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Death Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: I Hate ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Reissue ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Deathhammer. Nuclearhammer. Demolition Hammer. █
█ Master's Hammer. Hellhammer. Witchhammer. █
█ Fisthammer. Metal music is a veritable hardware █
█ store of pounding, beating, slamming, bashing, █
█ thumping, knocking, whacking and smashing █
█ implements that can now expand its inventory by █
█ one brand: Damnations Hammer of England, which █
█ certainly have little hesitation when it comes to █
█ the act of driving nails through ankles and wrists █
█ on its full-length debut Disciples of the Hex. The █
█ downside of this is that might be one of the few █
█ things I actually enjoyed about the record, for █
█ while it's certainly hammering along with a sense █
█ of purpose, anger and self-identity, the stripped █
█ down composition of rhythm guitars often delves so █
█ damn far into the painfully familiar and █
█ predictable camp that it can never stave off the █
█ redundancy. █
█ I've seen the band characterized as a doom/death █
█ hybrid, but must respectfully disagree, as this is █
█ far more of a doom/thrash blend and none of the █
█ traits of 'death metal' are anywhere to be found █
█ through the 41 minutes. This doesn't subsist on █
█ guttural vocals, tremolo guitar picking, █
█ brutality, or any of the usual suspects, and it █
█ would be dishonest for me to even compare it █
█ architecturally to earlier death or death/thrash █
█ from the late 80s other than the fact that it's █
█ dark, heavy, and played with the same instruments. █
█ No; beefy, effortless palm-muted riffs, generally █
█ involving no more than a few notes, and placed at █
█ a steady, mid mid tempo, are the norm here, and █
█ they evoked comparisons to both 'cruise mode' doom █
█ staples by bands like Sabbath, Cathedral, █
█ Candlemass and Trouble, and a harsher bite of █
█ thrash and groove metal which could recall from █
█ slower Sepultura, Crowbar, Hellhammer/Celtic █
█ Frost, or Stormtroopers of Death in that half the █
█ rhythm guitar progressions might have functioned █
█ on the intro splash to Headbanger's Ball 25 years █
█ ago. Really, really simple and accessible choices █
█ in notation which, had they thrown a few more █
█ curve balls, might have clubbed me into caring, █
█ but unfortunately wound up feeling stagnant and █
█ uninspired. █
█ This sort of technique is a crap shoot, after all, █
█ and has been since bands have been endearingly █
█ emulating the Tony Iommi method of chugging and █
█ doom metal became an actual entity unto itself. █
█ But, if I take an oldie and goodie like the verse █
█ of Candlemass' "At the Gallows End", one of my █
█ favorites to employ the process, I'm given an █
█ evil, unforgettable sequence of notes that █
█ functions wonderfully with the haughty, operatic █
█ intonations of one Messiah Marcolin. Here, the █
█ riffs in the verses of "Throne of Fire", █
█ "Serpent's Wrath", and "Harbinger of Darkness" █
█ seem as if very little thought or calculation went █
█ into them but palm muting along and striking the █
█ one, banal off-note. All too similar. "Impaled on █
█ the Horns of Betrayal" was another letdown, yet at █
█ least there they injected a fraction of dissonance █
█ into the notes that felt marginally fresher. But █
█ really, the only way this could get any more █
█ minimalistic for me is if they just hit their open █
█ strings and let them ring out for 5 minutes. And █
█ when played this artlessly and straightforward, █
█ note choice is the KEY...a key which the █
█ Englishmen left behind at the aforementioned █
█ hardware store. If I had just gotten into the █
█ genre yesterday, and this was one of the first █
█ records I'd heard, I might be more forgiving, but █
█ after tens of thousands and decades of metal █
█ albums, these are just not gonna cut it. █
█ Now, don't get me wrong, those are not the SOLE █
█ sorts of riffs that appear throughout Disciples of █
█ the Hex, but even the slower, trudging doom █
█ grooves like those played with the gathering █
█ percussion as the intro "Defiance & Retribution" █
█ which leads into the predictable crawl of "Throne █
█ of Fire" fare little better. Where Damnations █
█ Hammer become a little more curious is in their █
█ choice of vocal style, which is a meaty and manly, █
█ constipated sort of inflection which I've not █
█ often heard fronting such doom-styled guitars. I █
█ could say that it conjured up memories of local █
█ Boston area thrash acts like Wargasm and Formicide █
█ in the 80s, but the comparison might be lost on █
█ most readers. At any rate, this is not an approach █
█ you hear every day, and I feel like it compliments █
█ the palm-muted riffing style rather well. █
█ Occasionally it seeks to thrive off a repetitive, █
█ monotonous meter during the verses, and thanks to █
█ the blandness of the guitars, I felt a double █
█ whammy of disinterest. Naturally, there's not a █
█ lot of melody implied in the vocals, which might █
█ have helped; but being that I'm so constantly █
█ inundated with Ozzy-a-likes or generic gutturals █
█ that fail to emit any of that tortured burden that █
█ I require of the genre, Damnations Hammer gets █
█ props for at least trying. █
█ As for the other instruments section, there wasn't █
█ a lot going on aside from supporting the rhythm █
█ guitar. The bass lines in particular are too █
█ plain, where more curves and fills would have █
█ potentially helped to better round out the █
█ unimaginative riff progressions. The tone is fat █
█ and oily enough to add credibility to the raw █
█ heaviness of the rhythms, but not much more. Drums █
█ up the ante with some solid, simple double bass █
█ patterns, and you can feel the air rise off the █
█ kit, but in general they stick to the driving rock █
█ patterns one usually associates with acts like █
█ Trouble, Candlemass etc. Hardly a revelation, █
█ since doom has rarely been a platform for a █
█ confluence of showy beats and fills. I did █
█ actually enjoy the use of ambiance through the █
█ album, as sparse as they were. Even if its nothing █
█ like the metal tunes, "The Hex II" with its swells █
█ of gentle trauma was the most engrossing piece for █
█ me, and there are other moments where they'll just █
█ let some feedback roil off before lurching into █
█ the next deadpan riffing progression, and it █
█ builds a decent contrast. I also dug the narrative █
█ segue in "Disciples of the Hex", with a deep, █
█ ritualistic tone. █
█ Another strong point: the lyrics. Granted, █
█ Damnation Hammers fixation on the writings of H.P. █
█ Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard is nothing out of █
█ the ordinary, and honestly quite a cliche among █
█ heavy/doom, death or black metal acts in the 21st █
█ century, but they're well enough scripted, and █
█ reading along to "Disciples of the Hex" or █
█ "Impaled on the Horns of Betrayal" where lines █
█ like 'Sentinel macabre/blades and sallow skin', █
█ 'intravenous toxic blood' or 'bait the traps with █
█ flesh' reach out at you was one of the highlights █
█ of the album. Even there, though, I can't claim █
█ there's complete consistency, since "Throne of █
█ Fire" and "Serpent's Wrath" are a bit too obvious, █
█ simple and repetitive in their imagery. This is █
█ clearly the area in which the band needs the least █
█ amount of development, since the music itself █
█ doesn't capitalize on the harrowing intensity of █
█ the words. I never once felt menaced, ravaged or █
█ even vaguely interested by the metal riffing here, █
█ so even if Edgar Allen Poe himself had written the █
█ lyrics, it wouldn't have redeemed the sum █
█ experience. █
█ I've been hard on Disciples of the Hex, yes, but █
█ it's generally an inoffensive record of which the █
█ few good ideas aren't compounded or supported by █
█ the remainder. Not awful, and no terrible █
█ impressions, but as early as my first listen █
█ through the track list I felt like the creativity █
█ of the guitars came up very short, and further █
█ spins didn't alter my opinion. And since this is █
█ such heavily guitar-dominated music, the result is █
█ to cripple what might otherwise have been a solid █
█ occult punch to the gut. More interesting riffs, █
█ groovier bass lines that don't constantly cling to █
█ the safety net of those riffs, and wilder vocals █
█ (using the same general style) would go a long way █
█ towards crafting something far more epic and █
█ worthy of Damnations Hammer's chosen themes, and a █
█ long way towards preventing me from nodding off █
█ from guitar progressions that seem little more █
█ than the first, familiar impulse that came to mind █
█ during their construction. I fear I was a bit █
█ unmalleable under this particular bludgeoning, but █
█ I'm still filing this under 'could potentially be █
█ cool'. I'll just have to wait to see, and hear. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ Hailing from England, Damnations Hammer is a new █
█ unit and its heaviness is to be taken seriously. █
█ This is their first album and its really damn █
█ massive. Their main member is a veteran of the █
█ British thrash and groove scenes and his █
█ experience and influences is key to the success of █
█ this album. The version I have is the one released █
█ by I Hate and it's supposed to have new guitar █
█ solos and re-recorded bass tracks, I haven't heard █
█ the original version but the production is really █
█ thick and strong and I wouldn't change anything. █
█ The fact the band invested in their own recording █
█ studio truly paid off. █
█ What we have here is crushing doom/death metal █
█ greatly influenced by the Swiss masters Celtic █
█ Frost. They're also a power trio, but don't be █
█ afraid, their mighty approach will leave you █
█ breathless. Throughout the album, there's no time █
█ to lose, the pace is steady and there's no fillers █
█ during this forty minutes voyage into the creepy █
█ world of the Hex. After the short intro, Throne of █
█ Fire starts the album with his mid paced attack █
█ and it's one of the longest track on the album. █
█ While being smashing, it has awesome hooks both in █
█ the riffs and the vocals departments. Tim █
█ Preston's delivery is very similar to the one of █
█ Tom Gabriel Fischer, it's not the harsh style █
█ usually found in most doom/death style, well it █
█ has almost nothing to do with the typical death █
█ metal vocals. It's a rough and easily █
█ understandable voice crammed with evil spirits not █
█ really far from a thrash/groove hybrid. The vocals █
█ can get a bit repetitive and some deep growls █
█ would had been nice but it fits the music nicely █
█ surprisingly. There's a certain urgency and the █
█ hooks are immense, the title track is a good █
█ example of the sound, heavy riffs, repeated █
█ memorable choruses and weird leads all this █
█ shrouded with an occult atmosphere. The bass is █
█ loud and very present, I'm sure this would be a █
█ very enjoyable experience live for my eardrums and █
█ my neck ! It has the groove of doom/stoner era █
█ Cathedral mixed with both early and modern Celtic █
█ Frost. It's fast and sometimes, I felt like it █
█ should be slower, a song like Harbringer of █
█ Darkness answered my prayer and gave me a very █
█ cool slow break in the middle before the █
█ blistering attack of the riffs is back. The █
█ prelude to the massive last track is a cool █
█ atmospheric lovecraftian instrumental creating █
█ some momentum, opening the Gates to the █
█ Necronomicon ! It's something that I'd like them █
█ to establish more thoroughly, I'd like a full █
█ blown atmospheric approach mixed with their █
█ stampede crush all approach. Nonetheless, that's a █
█ very strong first offering from these Brits and █
█ I'm very interested to hear what they'll do in the █
█ future. █
█ I think Damnations Hammer could appeal to most █
█ metal fans. They have the crushing intent of █
█ death/doom, the groove of stoner metal and thrash █
█ and the occult atmosphere found in the more █
█ extreme areas of black and death. It's yet another █
█ huge catch by the doom masters of I Hate Records █
█ and like their other great bands, it shouldn't go █
█ unnoticed. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Defiance & Retribution 1:20 ░
░ 2. Throne of Fire 7:22 ░
░ 3. Disciples of the Hex 6:25 ░
░ 4. Serpent's Wrath 5:34 ░
░ 5. Impaled on the Horns of Betrayal 5:08 ░
░ 6. Harbinger of Darkness 4:06 ░
░ 7. The Hex II 3:09 ░
░ 8. Gates to the Necronomicon 7:42 ░
░ 40:46 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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