Band:	Black Steel
Album:	Hellhammer
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal
Release date:	2005
A review by:	wrathchild

01. Annihilate
02. That Was Then, This Is Now
03. Hellhammer
04. Grind To Metal
05. Up Against The World
06. Going Down
07. Relentless Force
08. Live For The Fight
09. Slaughterhouse
10. The Holy Devil
11. Death Or Glory

The wind of nostalgia blows over the music world, whether it is about disco or heavy metal. The good thing is that it brings back the original and untouched feeling that started it all, but the bad thing is that we've heard it all before.

That's what Black Steel is: A very good heavy metal band playing some fucking heavy metal made to headbang all day long. The new album, Hellhammer, has everything of a classic heavy metal release: Some fast songs with crushing riffs and speedy solos, some slower "hymn" songs and their catchy choruses, and some ballads (with the boredom they may bring...).
Moreover, the musicians are talented and aren't newcomers so you can trust in their ability to produce some good metal tracks. Matt Williams' voice has something of Bruce Dickinson, though he sings in a different way. The production is also quite good, not excellent but the whole sound is solid and is a good mix of old and new production styles, so no problem there.
In fact the only real problem is that it doesn't bring anything new and can be boring to listen to after the first two tracks cause those are the fastest. I don't really enjoy all those chorus repetitions like in the song Grind To Metal even though that's what is to be expected when it comes to hymn songs. Nevertheless, I can remember every chorus on this album and probably every riff without any painful effort, so it was probably mixed in a very efficient way.

That's also why I think you mustn't ignore this band if you're into classic heavy metal and why you shouldn't miss their live performances if you ever happen to be able to attend one of their shows: You'd get caught for excessive headbanging!