Here we have another re-issue on Apollon Records. Reverend Kill’s 2nd album was originally released in 2008 on Mercykill Records, and has been lovingly re-released a year later to keep it in circulation.
I must say, these guys did have me going at first. The album starts with something that would more closely resemble a country music song, having firmly tested my ability to gag and having me hurriedly reaching for the eject button to see if it was actually the wrong CD in the case, it soon became clear that it indeed was the correct one.
The music on ‘His Blood, Our Victory’ is mainly made up of old styled melodeath similar to early Amon Amarth (the vocal work too is quite reminiscent of Johan Hegg, with a slightly lower end register on his growl). Thankfully, there’s none of that ‘new’ melodeath that the likes of In Flames or Soilwork seem to churn out year in year out these days, with these guys smiling and lifting a middle finger to such a thought. However, even with the early 90’s melodeath loving vibe that this album gives off, Reverend Kill still suffer from some song writing problems. The main downfall for me is that it has a tendency to be pretty one dimensional. Although the rhythms and speed of the songs change here and there, it’s pretty difficult to tell one track from another, with the album passing by with only the odd hook managing to stick in my grey matter. That said, a lot of the soloing has a very bluesy, Iron Maiden-esque tone to them which is great, again fitting in with the early Scandinavian upstarts that these guys kneel at the altar of.
Reverend Kill’s heart is certainly in the right place, I just felt that they need to scrutinise their songs a little more. If they focussed on a bigger platter of hard hitting riffage than what they’ve served up here, they could one day become a ‘name’ in the scene. Until then, this is OK for what it is – chewing gum for the ears.
http://www.reverendkill.com/
