A year ago, I started the review for H.O.D.’s first album, with the plea, “Please buy this act’s T-shirt! I’ve never said this before, but considering it’s 50p including postage to get the CD, or a free download, these guys need to make money somewhere!” It’s a year on, they’ve played gigs all over the country and played assorted minor and major festivals, and H.O.D. have graced the world with a second album. So, has my opinion changed? Here’s a little clue; the free review copy arrived on my doormat when I was out at work at the same time as the maximum price “deluxe” £6 copy I’d chosen to pay for. Even if I’d known a freebie was on its way, I’d have still happily paid full price and much more for this unmatched slice of unadulterated metal.
Go to their myspace bio and the band admits to being a bunch of mates making music for fun; this simple self-definition doesn’t begin in any way to approach the level of musicianship, skill, and passion they’ve hit. Having decided to carry on beyond playing to friends at pub gigs for a case of beer and a plate of cheese, H.O.D. have unleashed onto the world ‘Surge Kill Steal’, a superlative CD of metal, thrash, and fun, that, should the world have so much of as a single ounce of justice, will sell by the skip load!
Opener, ‘Enter Titanus’, with its comedic dig at the current Transformers fad, has H.O.D. delivering a combination of riffs, drums, bass, and vocals that had Anthrax filling gigs throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Indeed, with his massive vocal range, sustained screams, and clear lyrical delivery, Reverend D must surely be able to give a young Joey Belladonna more then a run for his money. Honestly, after listen after listen, with the solid guitar work, group vocals, and massive rhythms, I found myself transported to the heyday of that NY band, but with the self effacing humour that only British bands seem to be able to pull off.
Track 3, ‘The Iron Matron’, manages to build on this cheeky awareness by firing out head wrenching beats, set to a comedic tale of a brutal hospital nurse; how can a story of torturous medical treatment and pubic topiary set to the sort of riff that would have Scott Ian wondering where he went wrong be anything but a masterpiece of joy? No cliché remained unworked and re-invigorated. ‘Deadly Wheels of Steel’ blasts out the motors and metal sensibilities of NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal), whilst the imagery of Tolkien is plundered in ‘Helm’s Deep’, mythic battles between elves, dwarves and goblins being set to a perfect backdrop of epic metal.
Not a single track on this offering goes astray; riffs meld with expert ease into battering drums, pummeling bass lines, and the screamed sustain of classic thrash vocals. Not one line fails to entertain, which is surely, the true sign of quality. Once again, let me plea with you; please, treat yourself; get this album; buy the shirt; and catch them live.
http://www.myspace.com/hospitalofdeath
http://www.indirec.com
