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Rating:
9.0 |
Hell - Human Remains
13 May 2011
Disc I
01. Overture: Themes from "Deathsquad"
02. On Earth As It Is In Hell
03. Plague And Fyre
04. The Oppressors [Race Against Time cover]
05. Blasphemy And The Master
06. Let Battle Commence
07. The Devil's Deadly Weapon
08. The Quest
09. Macbeth
10. Save Us From Those Who Would Save Us
11. No Martyr's Cage
Disc II [Digipak & 3LP Bonus]
01. Deathsquad [demo]
02. On Earth As It Is In Hell [demo]
03. Plague And Fyre [demo]
04. The Oppressors [Race Against Time cover] [demo]
05. Blasphemy And The Master [demo]
06. Let Battle Commence [demo]
07. The Devil's Deadly Weapon [demo]
08. The Quest [demo]
09. Macbeth [demo ]
10. Save Us From Those Who Would Save Us [demo]
11. No Martyr's Cage [demo]
I have taken the artistic license to combine a couple of famous movies and books into the following story to give you an idea of how this album came to fruition. Grab some popcorn.
The group emerges from the time capsule, drowsy and confused from the long hours inside the pod. A young child of this age of technology puts down his guitar and rushes to the back yard from which the strange lights appeared. The young guitar virtuoso and accomplished album producer decides to give them a hand in recording an album that had to be abandoned due to their vocalist passing away. With his help, they track down their guitarist's long lost little brother, who during the long years of absence has taken a career in theatre. When presented with the offer to become a vocalist for a heavy metal group, his reaction is "Fuck yeah!" The group high-fives and Andy Sneap (the young guitarist/accomplished record producer) promptly proclaims "to the Mystery Machine!" The result sound-wise is easy to guess, if you have listened to anything Sneap ever produced, you'll know this sounds crystal clear and heavy as bricks.
This beast of an album begins with a proclamation that "soon it will be, on Earth as it is in Hell." They proceed then to present the frustration of having to deal with hypocrisy ("Save Us from Those Who Would Save Us"), and their failed attempt at musical breakthrough ("No Martyr's Cage"), and songs dealing with history, apocalypse and dark Shakespearean themes. Vocalist David Bower shrieks, howls, prays and curses like a madman. Songs that used to have a tongue in cheek tinge to them praising Satan now sound genuine and downright scary in places.
The best thing about this record is probably its attitude: the anger on display here is serious, real and hard-hitting. The only rays of hope for the light-hearted among us are songs that present this album as if it were a decadent, metal Broadway musical like "Let Battle Commence" or "The Quest". The rest of the album proceeds to tell tales of nihilism and society's corruption which the band clearly thinks are as meaningful now as they were back in 1986.
The riffs are out of this world, as you would expect from a band that had just emerged from a (musical, at least) time capsule. The songs surprise the listeners with unexpected twists and turns, leading into unexpected riff changes, scorching guitar solos or hard-hitting choruses. Some might argue that the interludes drag on for a bit, but it adds a distinct identity to each song.
I can only hope as a listener of heavy metal that this album will be followed-up with even more material from the band, or that at least it does not take 25 years to release another album. I give you the best heavy metal album of the year 2011.
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Performance:
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10 |
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Songwriting:
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9 |
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Originality:
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9 |
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Production:
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10 |
written by Valentin B | 06.01.2012 |
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Comments
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| Comments: |
11
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Users visited:
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98 |
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| Agreed. This was, for me, one of 2011's best. |
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| Just so no-one gets confused, I'm talking about the subgenre heavy metal (as opposed to all metal). |
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This was a fantastic album!!!  |
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| Some parts are really enjoyabla, not a bad album, but still not overall memorable. Some dramatic parts reminds me of Sopor Aeternus, although that this is a totally different genre. |
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Enoch - 15.01.2012 at 03:32
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| I like their show. Great characters. |
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...I have to say it, this stuff is quite brilliant and I'm not even into heavy metal that much. If this full album was released in the 80s, it would have been a true classic just for the vocals alone.
Good review, found it amusing and to the point. Thanks for making me check it out, just in time for the awards. |
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Written by Mr. Doctor on 12.02.2012 at 23:25
...I have to say it, this stuff is quite brilliant and I'm not even into heavy metal that much. If this full album was released in the 80s, it would have been a true classic just for the vocals alone.
It's different vocalist on the rerecorded songs becuase the orignal vocalist died  |
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Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 13.02.2012 at 11:23
Written by Mr. Doctor on 12.02.2012 at 23:25
...I have to say it, this stuff is quite brilliant and I'm not even into heavy metal that much. If this full album was released in the 80s, it would have been a true classic just for the vocals alone.
It's different vocalist on the rerecorded songs becuase the orignal vocalist died
Yeah I know that... but damn, if this album in this exact same way with the vocals and all were to be released back then.... Damn.  |
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Written by Mr. Doctor on 13.02.2012 at 15:32
Yeah I know that... but damn, if this album in this exact same way with the vocals and all were to be released back then.... Damn.
I even prefer the roiginal vocalist. he can be heard on the demo versions of the songs which are included as the second cd of the 2cd version of the album |
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Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 13.02.2012 at 15:39
I even prefer the roiginal vocalist. he can be heard on the demo versions of the songs which are included as the second cd of the 2cd version of the album
I'll make sure to check it out. Heh... I might even be willing to buy this shit, my first heavy metala lbum in a looooong time. |
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 Druss - 13.02.2012 at 15:43
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| Agree with the review and the score, I honestly couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this album. Damn shame they couldn't release this when they first tried....eagerly awaiting a follow-up. |
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