### Denial Fiend: Horror holocaust

#### 07/11/11 || gk

Denial Fiend return this year after 4 years of silence and one major change in the line up. Blaine Cook of The Accused replaces Kam Lee on vocals and it’s a big change in the sound of the band. While the bands debut, “They Rise” was a decent if unspectacular album of death thrash, “Horror Holocaust” is a much more manic and aggressive album mixing punk and crossover with Sam Williams’ death thrash riffs and the distinct vocals of Cook.

Album opener “Corrupted Flesh” starts things off in fine fashion with some aggressive riffing and music backing Cook’s typical over the top vocals. “Stuck Pig/ Bleeding Out” amps up the pace and with Cook’s vocals actually sounds more like The Accused in their prime than any death thrash and it’s a pretty good place to be. Other stand out tracks include “Flesh Coffin” which moves from blistering speed metal riffs to a more varied attack, “A Fiend Without a Face” which has a thick and heavy bass line courtesy of Terry Butler and a groovy feel with Cook toning down his approach and letting the riffs shine, title song “Horror Holocaust” reminds me of mid period Suicidal Tendencies and it’s another solid song while “Dunsmoor” is a slow and eerie instrumental with Cook making cartoon noises with his voice but the song manages to work by itself and in giving the album just a bit of variety.

There’s nothing really new here. The music is a sharp mix of thrash, death and crossover with one foot firmly in the 80’s but it’s done well and delivered with some passion. Terry Butler and Sam Williams have been doing this for a while now and it feels like they share a good rapport while DRI’s Rob Rampy is a welcome addition behind the drum kit and his playing is very effective. The real star of the show though is Blaine Cook. If you’ve heard The Accused, then you know what to expect. An outlandish mix of screams, shouts, squeals, screeches and the occasional nod to more traditional thrash vocals like on the last song “Hell Asylum.” His vocals are very much an acquired taste and your enjoyment of this album will depend purely on whether or not you can handle Cook’s vocal acrobatics. Its occasionally a bit much like on “After Party Massacre” where a decent set of riffs are ruined by his over the top vocal histrionics and he does tend to overpower the riff and the music on occasion but in the scheme of things he hits a lot more than he misses.

Get a few beers in, get a few friends in and put this album on. You may not remember much of it the next day but it’s fun while it lasts and you can keep going back to it. Overall, “Horror Holocaust” is a fun party album that doesn’t get old quickly.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Ibex Moon Productions
- Website: Denial Fiend MySpace
- Band
- Blaine Cook: vocals
- Sam Williams: guitars
- Terry Butler: bass
- Rob Rampy: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Corrupted Flesh
- 02. Stuck Pig/ Bleeding Out
- 03. After Party Massacre
- 04. Flesh Coffin
- 05. A Fiend Without A Face
- 06. Horror Holocaust
- 07. Dunsmoor
- 08. Hell Asylum