Castle - Deadhand Hexagram - Download (2015)

Labels: Van
Review by: Alex Deller

Pretty solid 7″, this. The title track treads a resolutely heavy path, pitching itself somewhere between Trouble and the stomping gusto of Dio. Mat Davis’ guitarwork gallops, rollicks and roars while Liz Blackwell’s soaring vocals provide the perfect foil for his able riffmanship. The flip features a reworked version of a track from the band’s last LP, a more reserved effort which sees the guitar stripped back and accompanied by twining viola (courtesy of Uta Plotkin, ex of Witch Mountain) while Blackwell’s vocals take a dour, sombre turn that’s perhaps even more affecting than the siren wail displayed on the A-side.