Labels: Init
Review by: Dangerous Jamie
Featuring the erstwhile frontman of Esoteric, Hammerlord are brutal, heavy and fast in equal measure. It would be impossible to deny that as soon as I hit play, my face was ripped off by some of the fastest riffs and guttural vocals to come out of thrash metal in a long time. Hurling around wailing guitar solos and blast beats like they were in danger of being carried away by a massive dragon, Hammerlord don’t pander to the crossover masses “beer and good times” mentality that seems to be the modern face of thrash. Instead they opt for a pure thrash metal sound that scratches deeper into the niche which was carved out in the Bay Area circa 1985. There really isn’t anything wrong worthy of pointing out with this album at all and with tracks like Metalization, Fortress and, my personal favourite, Thunderers Hammerlord show they are keen to fulfil the self-proclaimed “New Lords Of Thrash Metal” promise. While it may still be early days, I have a suspicion that one day they will indeed receive the crown and sceptre. It is also worth noting the excellent cover art, it doesn’t come much more metal than a sepia chick in Princess Leia’s bikini surrounded by wolves, maybe if she was holding a huge hulking hammer or something. Oh wait, she is. Metal!