This band formed 15 years ago but with various line-up changes it wasn’t until 2000 that they began putting out records. Considering main-man Terry McCorriston began his musical career as one-man black/thrash outfit Nazgul (releasing only one demo back in 1994) this is unsurprising; line-up problems seem to be a pretty common occurrence in bands that begin with only one member…usually ego plays a part but that’s not necessarily the case here and given that my own ego doesn’t leave much room for collaboration I’ll shut up on that matter. The nerds among you may be aware the Nazgul are the Wringwraiths from JRR Tolkien’s LOTR; given that my knowledge and propensity towards all things Middle Earthian are limited to watching the films (initially on sufferance) I wouldn’t have known if not for the wonders of the web but what is interesting is that Mars is in fact a concept album and all about a war of a different kind to slaying Orcs and Uruk-hai; a war between planets…hence the title, Mars.
The album begins with a sprawling 10 minute long opener; ‘Warlords Of Mars’ wastes no time holding fire and marches hellishly through with some sick riffage and powerful drums that pound the enemy flat. The vocals are particularly venomous and in places sound rather like they are being snarled out through a megaphone. ‘The Gods Themselves’ comes thudding in with a downtuned guitar sound that is as oppressive as any man-made deity. Suddenly we hear much more of a classic doom influence reminding a little of Cathedral, before all rattles away into a hurtling riff; speed is certainly high up the agenda but it doesn’t stop them balancing it out with some slower parts to add atmosphere and shade. ‘No Blade Of Grass’ equally takes us down through a dark, dirty and rather sludgy passage. The bass here kicks out a fair bit of groove and rather like a tank it seeks to crush you beneath its weight.
The Mad Butcher carves his influence into ‘Hell On Mars’ and Destruction is what we’re after; the guitars slice through with a serrated edge – there is nothing neat and tidy here! This is rather filthy stuff and it’s aggressive as a rifle-equipped, adrenaline-fuelled soldier on the warpath. Fans of old school Teutonic thrash will enjoy this hellish furore. ‘The Knights Of The Black Cross…’ rages on, all instruments seemingly galloping in harmony before kind of coming unglued, as each knight falls down in battle against ‘…The Reavers Of The Red Death.’ The bass is really prominent in the middle of this one as all slows down to a more ominous pace.
‘The Dead Of Winter’ brings things to a bitter end; there’s a blackened, lonesome riff weaving through it and you can feel the icy blast coming through like a chilly northerly wind. This is one of the more atmospheric numbers on the album and very black in its influence. The doom influence gives the album a nice touch, breaking up the speed and aggression and creating a dark mood here and there. I really enjoyed this album and must also comment on the rather cool artwork – it’s colourless and crudely drawn and tells you exactly what to expect from the music! If you like your thrash blackened, filthy and with a touch of atmosphere then pick this up…or die!
http://www.myspace.com/hailscorchedearth
