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Hellbringer: Hellbringer
23/06/11 || revenant
Satan, hear my call…
So this probably looks, on the surface, like yet another unknown band who’s sent their shitty disc to us for coverage, right? Not so, fucko (how’s that for rhyming?), I’ve picked this one out myself because I think it’s a disc worth talking about. Why? Because it’s ace, that’s fucking why.
But before I get any further into this review, I just want to send a big cheers to The Shadow for mentioning this album on the forums. Without his note, this album have passed my attention completely which would have been a damn, damn shame.
Hellbringer, according to the info I’m seeing on their MySpace, used to go under the moniker “Forgery”, but changed their name to avoid being confused with the other Forgery. You know, Forgery. What, never heard of them? Well neither the fuck have I, but I’m sure it was a good fucking decision. I wouldn’t want to be confused with a band nobody’s heard of either. Anyway, under the Forgery name they released an EP called “Hellbringer”, which contained 6 of the 8 tracks featured here on their debut album as Hellbringer, called “Hellbringer”. There’s also a song called “Hellbringer”. Fuck, this shit’s getting confusing.
The music Hellbringer plays can be described as good old fashioned, simple and punchy thrash. These boys hail from Australia, and it fucken shows in their influences. I know a lot of the international community may not have heard of these bands before, but the music of Hellbringer is highly influenced by Australian cult thrash legends Hobb’s Angel of Death and Armoured Angel (who, incidentally, hailed from Hellbringer’s hometown of Canberra). If you’re a thrash fan and have never heard of these bands before, then check them out here and here and find out what you missed. There is also a flavour of Sodom to Hellbringer’s music as well, rounding out a damn fine sound that manages to avoid the pitfalls of modern thrash influences whilst not sounding like an 80’s rip off. That in itself deserves a round of fucken applause, because what Hellbringer does is bring teh 80’s thrash without being hackneyed and brings it with the spirit it was born with.
Look at the fucken song titles and lyrics for instance. It’s all about satan and hell. Raise the fucking horns already! That cover? Man, that’s 80’s through and through. The production, too, sounds as it did back in the day (but don’t read that as a bad thing). Shit, they even dress as though it was still the 80’s. Fucken bullets for a belt. These guys live, and produce, 80’s thrash exactly as it was always meant to be.
The songwriting on this release is top notch. There isn’t one song that feels filler-ish, and they’re all memorable and catchy. “Hellbringer” will make a great concert closer and was an excellent choice for title track for the album and band. “The Hammer” is a fist pumping anthem that any thrash fan will dig. Damn, I could go on an mention all these tracks individually, but I won’t. Aside from the great riffs on display, these guys show a lot of maturity and restraint in the way they have crafted their music. Three tracks in and it’s brutally obvious how good these guys are at their break down sections. They are neither forced, nor do they prove unnecessary. They are natural progressions that work damn well. The band also avoids the pitfalls of focusing too heavily on groove or trying to play at a stupidly fast rate, the mistakes a lot of modern thrash bands make.
I can’t, however, call this a perfect album by any means. There are times that the band doesn’t feel as tight as they should be, particularly on some of the bridges. It’s only a small gripe, and it certainly doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of this album, but it is worth a mention.
I could go on about this album but I won’t. Needless to say, I’m fucken impressed. The big question that unfortunately rears it’s ugly head in my mind is this: “for all the good I hear in this band, can they actually go anywhere with it?” It’s a big unknown. Hellbringer come from a small town that isn’t exactly known for being great to metal bands. Armoured Angel are cult legends but they only ever had one full length album to their name. Templestowe (a melodic death metal band also from Canberra) pulled the pin one year after their debut full length. It’s going to be tough, especially with a thrash market as overcrowded as it already is. I sincerely hope these guys can become the breakout hit they deserve to be, their debut is an awesome release that any fan of 80’s thrash should get their hands on.
- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Iron Pegasus
- Website: Hellbringer MySpace
- Band
- Luke Bennett: vocals, bass
- Tim Sheppard: guitars
- Josh Bennett: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Intro
- 02. Hellbringer
- 03. The Banished
- 04. The Rapture
- 05. Spawns of the Void
- 06. The Hammer
- 07. Screams from the Catacombs
- 08. My Fist Your Face (Armoured Angel cover)
