Showing posts with label gospel of the horns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gospel of the horns. Show all posts

Friday, February 8, 2019

Gospel of the Horns Box Set

Over the past year, I have picked up a number of box sets, whether complete or only partial.  The bands have ranged from incredibly obscure (Nuclear Death, Treblinka (who eventually became Tiamat)) to the more well-known, at least in metal circles (Primordial, Cirith Ungol, Possessed).  This one falls in the former category, though it is a band with whom I am well familiar.

As longtime readers of this blog know, and there may be a few of those still out there somewhere, I am a big fan of the Australian blackened thrash metal scene, often known as "war metal".  Gospel of the Horns fits in well with that scene and, as is common in these bands, features members who have played with Destroyer 666, among others.  Howitzer remains the only member of the band that has been a constant in the band's lineup, and he played drums for D666 on Unchain the Wolves

This is a mostly complete box set of the Gospel of the Horns material.  It consists of three tapes, and includes both of the band's full-length releases and one album features their 1998 and 2012 EPs.  The only other material out there is another EP and a couple of demos, so this comes close to being the complete Gospel of the Horns experience.  I previously owned both of the full-lengths, so only the two EPs on the first tape were new to me. 

One thing that becomes clear upon listening to all of the material in this set is that Gospel of the Horns has never changed their sound.  The earliest material still has the same thrash-infused black metal sound as any of the later material.  It is still delivered in a blistering crunch and Howitzer's vocals have always sounded like he is gargling with battery acid. 

I can not find any information about Gospel of the Horns breaking up, but they have not released anything new since the 2012 EP Ceremonial Conjuration, included herein.  If they have broken up, this is a relatively cheap and easy way to access all of their vital material.  It would be nice to see something else from them again though. 

*Image was taken from the Invictus website.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 47: Gospel of the Horns

Longtime readers know that I am a huge fan of the Australian black/thrash/death scene colloquially known as "war metal". As such, a bunch of these bands have made it into this list. Gospel of the Horns is one such band. Gospel sounds a bit like a thrashier Destroyer 666, which makes sense because one of their members was from that group. Of course this means I am definitely on board. Their music would be a fitting soundtrack to a particularly brutal battle. Gospel has only released two full-length albums, but after splitting up for awhile, the group is back and reportedly going to release another one. I, for one, cannot wait.

FAVORITE ALBUM: REALM OF THE DAMNED

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Australian War Metal Scene

The War Metal scene is a name given to a bunch of Australian bands who draw influences from thrash, death, and black metal. They all play very fast, evil, chaotic sounding music. Guitar solos come out of nowhere in a frenzy of riffs and pummelling drums, and vocals typically consist of raspy death growling. This is one of my favorite scenes because of the extreme energy of the bands involved. Destroyer 666 is the most well-known of the bands, but there are several others. The scene gets its name because many of the bands prefer lyrical themes about warfare. Many of the band members switch from one band to another frequently.

Here are just some of the bands involved in the war metal scene:

ABOMINATOR

Abominator was discussed briefly in one of the reviews, so I won't go into too much detail here. Abominator was one of the earlier bands in the scene. They took the groundwork laid by groups like Slaughter Lord and added various extreme elements to it. Abominator is much more of a death metal band with black and thrash influences than many of the other bands. They are heavier, dirtier, and rawer than some of the others. The band is still active, although they have not released anything since 2006.

ATOMIZER

Atomizer is probably my favorite band from this scene, next to Destroyer 666. Atomizer started off playing a style of blackened thrash with death metal influences. The vocals were harsh and extreme and there really was not anything making them different from the litany of other bands that played that style. Then, they started experimenting a little bit with a cleaner sound. It's tough for me to tell just what their other influences are, but the music got significantly catchier. The vocals were still harsh but were not quite as raspy, they were more spoken that screamed and it was much easier to tell what Jason Healey was saying. The music was a little more restrained, still fast with driving drums and frequent guitar solos, but not as out of control as it was previously. The music was calculated to be infectious and the band succeeded. They went a little too far away from the thrash sound on their final album, which was not as good as their prior albums. Unfortunately the original drummer Suds died in 2006 which is why the band split. A great band who had a bright future, it's unfortunate.

BESTIAL WARLUST

Along with Abominator, Bestial Warlust was one of the earliest bands in this scene. Unlike Abominator, Bestial Warlust has split up. However, their influence can be heard in many of the other bands. Bestial Warlust also played an extremely raw and brutal style of death metal with black and thrash influences. The production value on their albums is terrible, making them a little difficult to hear well, but the speed, power, harsh vocals, and blazing guitar solos that make up the war metal sound are all here. While Bestial Warlust was still together, guitarist KK Warslut formed a side project called Destroyer 666, the leading band in the scene. The band recorded two full length albums, each one extremely ugly and brutal.

DESTROYER 666

Destroyer 666 is probably the most well-known band in the scene. I have discussed Destroyer 666 before, so I won't go into a lot of detail here. They play a frequently evolving mix of black, death, and thrash metal. On their earlier recordings, they were mostly a black metal band but they began mixing in the other genres as they continued to record. The most recent full length Cold Steel...For an Iron Age was essentially just blackened thrash and was an amazing album. They have recently posted a new song on their Myspace, so apparently a new album is coming, finally.

DESTRUKTOR

Destruktor is very similar in style to later Destroyer 666 and for good reason as former members of Destroyer 666 are in this band. They play mostly blackened thrash metal with some death metal influences. Their sound is fast, chaotic, and powerful. They play thrashy riffs with a heavy bass tone and feature similar raspy screams as Destroyer 666. They are not real well-known yet as they have only released a couple of EPs, splits, and demos, but they are a force to be reckoned with.

GOSPEL OF THE HORNS

As ugly-sounding as many of the bands in this scene are, few hold a candle to Gospel of the Horns. Gospel is the only band that is far more influenced by black metal than thrash or death, other than the earliest recordings by Destroyer 666. The vocals of Mark Howitser are extremely raspy and half-growled at the same time. He achieves a tone rarely heard before, actually sounding like some of the instrumentation at times. Gospel does use a better production than many of the other bands from the area, but that doesn't make their sound any less filthy. The band's status is constantly changing, it would appear at this time that they have split up, but they tend to reunite quickly.

GRENADE

I am not entirely convinced of Grenade's inclusion in this scene. They seem to meet the style requirements, playing mostly blackened thrash with some death metal elements. The riffs are similar, the tremolo swirling guitar riffs are there, the vocals are raspy, but the lyrical theme is different. Grenade, despite the band's name, does not actually deal much with warfare. Many of their themes are anti-Christian, humorous, or about metal. Grenade is kind of a throwback band, with a lot of speed metal parts, solos that whizz by, and strange lyrical themes, it's easy to imagine them coming out of the 1980's. They have only released one full length so far, but it is a good one.

RAZOR OF OCCAM

Razor of Occam is a band made up of Shrapnel and Matt from Destroyer 666. The band plays music mostly similar to Destroyer 666's Cold Steel. The lyrical themes do not always deal with warfare, choosing instead to deal with diverse themes. The band is actually on Metal Blade, which is a surprise for a mostly underground movement. Their first full length Homage to Martyrs was released earlier this year and is a frontrunner for album of the year at this point.

SLAUGHTER LORD

Slaughter Lord is another band that really doesn't belong in this scene, but I am mentioning them only because they were a major influence on it. Slaughter Lord is more of a thrash metal band taking influences from German thrash metal bands like Sodom and Destruction. They are long since broken up and only released three demos in the 1980's. The demos were collected together and released as a compilation in 1998. Other influences on the scene included Sadistik Exekution, Hobbs' Angel of Death, and Blasphemy (from Canada).

TRENCH HELL

Trench Hell is a relatively new band to the scene. They wear their very clear Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influence on their sleeve, even covering the classic "The Third of the Storms" on their demo. They do play a little faster than the much doomier Swiss icons, but with the same punk energy, down-tuned riffs, menace, and even a pretty good approximation of Tom Warrior's husky grunting vocals. Thus far, Trench Hell has only released a demo, and EP, and a promo for the EP. I am eagerly anticipating a new full length album. Hellhammer worship is never a bad thing.

URGRUND

Urgrund is one of the lesser-known bands in this scene. Urgrund plays a slower form of thrash metal with black metal influences and filthy-sounding production. The band basically sounds like a combination of Kreator and Mayhem. The band is not as chaotic-sounding as groups above like Abominator and Gospel of the Horns. Instead, they are a little bit more restrained in the speed department, but make up for it in the heaviness. This band is extremely heavy.

Other bands that I have yet to hear include: Denouncement Pyre, Nocturnal Graves, and others.