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Holy Moses - Redefined Mayhem review



Reviewer:
8.2

31 users:
7.26
Band: Holy Moses
Album: Redefined Mayhem
Style: Thrash metal
Release date: April 23, 2014
A review by: D.T. Metal


01. Hellhound
02. Triggered
03. Undead Dogs
04. Into The Dark
05. Sacred Sorrows
06. Process Of Projection
07. Fading Realities
08. Liars
09. Redemption Of The Shattered
10. Whet The Knife
11. Delusion
12. One Step Ahead Of Death
13. This Dirt

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. But, if your dog's name is Holy Moses, you really don't need to.

Even though the band was one of the forerunners of the German thrash movement, they were never considered a part of the "Big 3" (four, if you count Tankard). Maybe because their stand-out album, Finished With The Dogs, wasn't released until 1987 (I really won't count their debut album, sorry) while the "others" already had some remarkable releases in circulation. Who knows - regardless, today's Holy Moses is still as relevant to thrash metal as they were back in the Eighties. Case in point, their newest album Redefined Mayhem.

Mayhem - "needless or willful damage or violence". Damage to your neck muscles and violently moshing in the pit? Without a doubt.

Redefine - "to reexamine or reevaluate especially with a view to change". Change, as in Holy Moses incorporated more of their death and black metal influences into the new album? Cool with me, since they never stuck to a strict "thrash formula" and usually had some off-genre elements complimenting their sound anyways. "Triggered", the second track on the album would be one of those examples, as well as "Redemption Of The Shattered". While the latter is still thrashy, and I couldn't stop headbanging, it is also more progressive in nature. And dat guitar solo - holy moses crap. As a matter of fact, if change also meant to have those ridiculously awesome solos and/or riffs in the album - bring it. Don't get me wrong, Holy Moses always had some great guitarists and the genre demands guitar driven songs, but their new shredder (Peter "Pete" Geltat) is just criminally good.

And speaking of good, I was immediately drawn to "Undead Dogs" and somehow can't shake the urge to scream "PHOBIA" every time I listen to it now; especially at the beginning of the guitar solo. While "Delusion", another "odd-man-out" song, and somehow among my favorites on the album, is a very simple track, the constant male backing vocals add a dark undertone to it. Or "Into The Dark", which starts slow and atmospheric before going all apeshit - head banging not only promised but guaranteed.

Throughout the entire album, the bass is not only thumping but also very high in the mix. Bassist Thomas Neitsch brings something to the table in each and every song on Redefined Mayhem and Gerd Lücking is no slouch behind his kit neither. There are no useless "let's hit the snare or cymbal just for the heck of it" which makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. Last but certainly not least, Sabina Classen cements her legacy as one of the few female harsh vocalists in this male dominated genre once more; woman got pipes.

While Redefined Mayhem might not go down as THE thrash metal album of Holy Moses, I am almost certain that old, as well as newfound fans, will spin it more than once or twice. Seriously, even after the third listening I heard passages, riffs, screams or shouts which I didn't notice before. Make sure you give it a thorough listening before you pass judgment.





Written on 04.04.2014 by Former boss lady. Now just a professional concertgoer... dangerously armed with a camera!


Comments

Comments: 11   Visited by: 170 users
05.04.2014 - 02:05
ManiacBlasphemer
Black Knight
Nice to see that this band is still moving on and can still release some good stuff. They did not have the luck to be among the big 4 of the german thrash metal scene, but you can always make a big 5 and include them. And I do think that there were more reason for their lack of popularity... rather than just a late release of a good album. Heck, I mean Sodom released Persecution Mania in 1987 too and they hit it well, commercialy speaking with Agent Orange 2 years later. Kreator released Pleasure to Kill in 1986 and Destruction hit it well with Eternal Devastation the same year. And seriously, I would not put Tankard over Holy Moses in terms of quality. No offense, the guys are funny, they have something up their sleeves, but hey, musical wise, they hit it well in the 2000s with The Beauty And The Beer.
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05.04.2014 - 02:22
SuicidalCyco
Account deleted
Gnarly, I'll definitely have to check this out.
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05.04.2014 - 08:32
Rating: 7
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
Michael Hankel not there anymore?

"I really won't count their debut album, sorry"
That's ok, Queen Of Siam is probably their worst album anyway.
Could this be another Reborn Dogs?
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"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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05.04.2014 - 11:49
angel.
Evil Butterfly
Brigit I like your pen a lot as in how you direct interviews, then this was a pleasant reading.

I just like to add something, back in the day Sabina was one of the few, the scene was dominate by males, but not really today. There are many female vocalists in the scene and instrumentalists and even all female bands.
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The Fangirl.
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05.04.2014 - 19:21
Mattybu
Nice review, this album sounds really good and I am itching to listen to it now.
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05.04.2014 - 20:10
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Written by angel. on 05.04.2014 at 11:49
...the scene was dominate by males, but not really today.

You don't think the metal scene is still male-dominated?
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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05.04.2014 - 20:13
angel.
Evil Butterfly
Written by Troy Killjoy on 05.04.2014 at 20:10

You don't think the metal scene is still male-dominated?

not as much as it used to be, but still it i. But mainly I wanted to imply that Sabina is not one of the few female vocalists in the scene anymore.
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The Fangirl.
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05.04.2014 - 20:16
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Written by angel. on 05.04.2014 at 20:13
not as much as it used to be, but still it i. But mainly I wanted to imply that Sabina is not one of the few female vocalists in the scene anymore.

Fair enough. I thought you meant the scene was reaching a balance between males and females and I was ready to trawl through Metal-Archives and waste a bunch of time proving a point that probably doesn't even matter anyway. So thanks for saving me time.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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05.04.2014 - 20:24
D.T. Metal
Staff
Written by angel. on 05.04.2014 at 20:13

...But mainly I wanted to imply that Sabina is not one of the few female vocalists in the scene anymore.

And that's why I wrote in the review ..."she cements her legacy"
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05.04.2014 - 20:47
angel.
Evil Butterfly
Written by Troy Killjoy on 05.04.2014 at 20:16

Fair enough. I thought you meant the scene was reaching a balance between males and females and I was ready to trawl through Metal-Archives and waste a bunch of time proving a point that probably doesn't even matter anyway. So thanks for saving me time.

Hehe not really a balance, there are still far more men than women in the scene, but the difference is less than before I think : More vocalists and instrumentalists than what was before.


hehe you're welcome buddy, but anything music related discussed in MS matters to me really, if someone spend a bit of time on the things would be written.
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The Fangirl.
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19.06.2014 - 04:03
Rating: 8
Guib
Thrash Talker
Ok very good Review D.T. and I completely agree with you, I was drawn to Undead Dogs after the couple first notes lol.
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- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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