Metal Storm logo
Holy Moses - Agony Of Death review




Bandcamp music player
Reviewer:
8.0

39 users:
7.49
Band: Holy Moses
Album: Agony Of Death
Style: Thrash metal
Release date: September 2008


01. Imagination
02. Alienation
03. World In Darkness
04. Bloodbound Of The Damned
05. Pseudohalluzination
06. Angels In War
07. Schizophrenia
08. Dissociative Disorder
09. The Cave (Paramnesia)
10. Delusional Denial
11. The Retreat
12. Through Shattered Minds/Agony Of Death (Outro)

After a good last album, Holy Moses is back this year with "Agony Of Death". Be sure that one more time you'll get a good dose of aggressive German Thrash Metal and really this is cool to see that Sabina and her band mates are still able to be convincing like this. Don't expect melodic stuff a la Bay Area Thrash but if you like violent Thrash which flirts with Death Metal I'm quite sure that you'll like "Agony Of Death". Definitely Holy Moses is not dead!

The first things that you'll hear when you'll listen to the new album are the riffs. Really we're in front of real fast sharping Thrash Metal riffs. If you were a bit doubtful about the fact that Holy Moses is a real Thrash Metal band, you'll have a singular prove here, this band plays Thrash and good one. Sure this is not so melodic and complex like some Bay Area Thrash combos but even if the album has some strong Death Metal influences it remains a really good release full of hits like "Pseudohalluzination", "Imagination" or "Angels In War". What I like the most I think is the general dark and naughty ambiance of the album. The songs are really dark and oppressive you'll really have some disturbing feelings when you'll play the music of the new Holy Moses. What can I add? Maybe that "Agony Of Death" is a bit repetitive sometime but after all this is not super complex Thrash Metal and anyway I don't think that we are looking for something which is extremely technical when we listen to Holy Moses, we just want powerful music and you can be sure that you'll have some good one here.

I don't know if it comes from the return of Guido Richter but this album is heavier than ever. The musicians are all good and the guitarists propose really good guitar soli. Sabina is one more time really convincing and sings with a powerful voice which clearly has more "balls" than the ones of a majority of Metal singers. The production is correct even if the sound is maybe too loud sometime but really this is just a little problem and all in all "Agony Of Death" is just a good album of Thrash Metal.

"Agony Of Death" is probably one of the best releases of Holy Moses. The fans will not be disappointed here, the new album is fast, violent and with great melodies, really there is nothing bad in this release. Sure you have to like German Thrash to fully enjoy this album but if you like bands like Kreator you'll love "Agony Of Death". It's nice to see that Holy Moses is still able to play great music, I just hope now that festivals and bookers will think about them for their upcoming tour, this band deserves to be seen live. "Holy Moses" is still alive and ready to kick your ass, with "Agony Of Death" be prepared for a great Thrash Metal tornado!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 8

Written by Jeff | 05.10.2008




Comments

Comments: 12   Visited by: 145 users
05.10.2008 - 20:40
VPeter

The Thrash Metal album of the year for me. Holy Moses deserve more attention.
Loading...
05.10.2008 - 20:45
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Another very average almost boring thrash album by these veteran thrashers.
Reeally mediocre, nothing stands out. Holy moses really lost it after their first couple of albums.
But at least this album is a bit better than their live performances which are quite embaressing to be honest
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
05.10.2008 - 21:47
Valentin B
Iconoclast
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.10.2008 at 20:45

Another very average almost boring thrash album by these veteran thrashers.
Reeally mediocre, nothing stands out. Holy moses really lost it after their first couple of albums.
But at least this album is a bit better than their live performances which are quite embaressing to be honest

why do you say that? (i was planning to give them a listen and maybe see them live)
Loading...
05.10.2008 - 21:49
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Valentin B on 05.10.2008 at 21:47

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.10.2008 at 20:45

Another very average almost boring thrash album by these veteran thrashers.
Reeally mediocre, nothing stands out. Holy moses really lost it after their first couple of albums.
But at least this album is a bit better than their live performances which are quite embaressing to be honest

why do you say that? (i was planning to give them a listen and maybe see them live)


Because that is my opinion But still go ahead by giving them a listen and seeing them live and then judge for yourself
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
05.10.2008 - 21:53
Valentin B
Iconoclast
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.10.2008 at 21:49

Written by Valentin B on 05.10.2008 at 21:47

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.10.2008 at 20:45

Another very average almost boring thrash album by these veteran thrashers.
Reeally mediocre, nothing stands out. Holy moses really lost it after their first couple of albums.
But at least this album is a bit better than their live performances which are quite embaressing to be honest

why do you say that? (i was planning to give them a listen and maybe see them live)


Because that is my opinion But still go ahead by giving them a listen and seeing them live and then judge for yourself

gonna see them with Benediction(of which i know only one song, that's right, their cover of "Electric Eye")

listening to them now, Too Drunk To Fuck from their 1990 album sounds pretty awesome
Loading...
05.10.2008 - 21:54
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Valentin B on 05.10.2008 at 21:53



listening to them now, Too Drunk To Fuck from their 1990 album sounds pretty awesome


Of course that is an awesome song since it is a Dead Kennedies cover
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
05.10.2008 - 21:57
Valentin B
Iconoclast
well, the rest of the album seems to sound pretty good too. reminds me of Slayer

can't believe it's a girl singing though
Loading...
05.10.2008 - 23:18
Abattoir

I don't know, but for this new album isn't so bad. And I'm going to see them probably live, and convinced myself if they realy suck as Marcel already said before
Loading...
06.10.2008 - 02:39
Southern Wind
Account deleted
I agree with Marcel this band is among the most overrated thrash acts ever... boring as fuck...
Loading...
06.10.2008 - 10:30
DrunkenFuck
Thrasher!
Yeah, they weren't very good at Wacken either.

I still don't get the name? That's like the worst band name ever?
----
THRASH!!!
Loading...
08.10.2008 - 00:08
Rating: 7
Jason W.
Razorbliss
Well this album is definitely better than most of the stuff I've heard from this band. It's a better production, and a heavier sound, like Jeff says. Will I buy it? No, because it's still derivative, and to be honest, really doesn't have a memorable riff. It's very fast at parts, but it all just melds together after awhile. However, I really think this is a good album, just not a memorable one.

find if I listen to one song randomly, I like it. But, 12 songs in a row? I can't tell which track it is, unless it is the song "Alienation."
----
"After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
Loading...
03.01.2009 - 20:49
Rating: 8
HardSide

Suprisingly, the album is very good, I figured this wouldn't hold my interest because of the female singer, and it would be just another Arch Enemy copy using latest hi-tech to mask the vocals, but I was very wrong. Very good album.

As dismaleuphony commented, it does not have memorable rifts, however speaking for myself and a few others I know, people are tired of the same gimmicks and repeating rifts throughout the song just to make it sound appealed, the album is fast, heavy, a true thrash album.
Loading...

Hits total: 5611 | This month: 9