This album really surprised me when I first listened to it. I had not done any research on the band when I first listened to the album and I was shocked by how much they sounded like Ghost. In fact, I figured they were some band that was taking Ghost's sound and running with it since the band has been steadily working their way into the mainstream. Imagine my surprise when I released that this album was released nearly a quarter century before Ghost's debut album.
The sound on this album is heavily rooted in latter Ozzy-era Black Sabbath with some Blue Öyster Cult thrown in for good measure. The band makes heavy usage of organs, giving the sound an eerie, occult atmosphere, like a dusty, old 70's cult horror movie. In addition, the bass guitar is a primary melodic instrument, propelling most of the songs forward. As if the music were not enough to draw comparisons to Ghost's Opus Eponymous, there are the dry vocals that sound exactly like Tobias Forge's work.
The songs are all a bit lengthy, each one lasting more than six minutes. At points in a few songs, the band kind meanders a little too much dragging down the momentum a bit. The atmosphere continues to be spooky, but it kind of loses something in those moments.
It is amazing how an album from 1985 can sound simultaneously retro and be ahead of its time. I do not want to mention that other band again in this review, because it is clear that Black Hole came first and their sound is based on Black Sabbath instead. The album really did take me by surprise and it is the perfect soundtrack for a cheesy, cult horror movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment