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 (the shirt is pretty groovy too, only £7.50 inc. postage for an old school white on black front and rear print), and it’s not by letting you have their music for nothing!
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 to approach the level of musicianship they’ve hit. For nothing/50p, you get a full 41 minute, 12 track slice of uninhibited fun and unapologetic thrash metal. The album opens with what I’m reliably informed is a note perfect cover of the BBC’s Casualty theme, enhanced with a metal sensibility. Hey, I don’t watch enough soap operas to know, I just revelled in the layered guitar riffs and bass lines.
When the first original track opens, the listener is treated to an example of unadulterated thrash metal: twin guitar attack; blistering squealing solos; a chugging rhythm section; and a vocalist who can cut from staccato Exodus vocals to the high pitched sustain of Joey Belladonna with no apparent effort. If this band ever discovers a time tunnel to 1985 they will have conquered the metal world and had old gits like me saying, “but do you remember the H.O.D.’s first albums, before they went commercial in the 90’s?” The same fun and fire blasts it way into “I Am A Tiger”, and into the mosh pit inducing “Eyezabeams of Osiris”, the track’s sword and sorcery inspiring lyrics jumping back to the classic years of metal, whilst the band’s musicianship shines through. They even manage to throw in Tolkeinesque Middle Earth references in “Hogs of War”. I can only hope to one day catch them live, and that their onstage enthusiasm hits even one percent of the energy they manage to capture on album.
When track 7 kicks in, I had an almost unconquerable desire to pull out a lighter and sway to the metal ballad, “We Go Together”, the band managing to successfully and hilariously blend the AOR styles of hair bands like Whitesnake with the thrash sensibilities of Armoured Saint or Testament, but all the while injecting their own unique humour. At first you could think this is just an ego trip overblown Cloverdale wankfest; however, when the lyric, “we go together like Jack Daniels and coke, and girl, I love you so much I can’t shit, and that ain’t no joke”, powers through, you realise that the band are just having fun, and firing barbs that burst the pomposity of 90’s power ballads so you can really relax and enjoy the track for what it is; fun!
Straight after this brief respite the band fires into the 100mph riff of “Death Shed”, followed by the neck wrenching riff of “Fear the Ambulance”. Every note comes across perfectly, the clarity belaying what must have been low budget home production. Every track is imbued with a boundless energy, backed with technical expertise that just makes me want to catch them live.
Please, treat yourself; get this album; buy the shirt; and catch them live.
www.myspace.com/hospitalofdeath
