MPIRE OF EVIL - Hell To The Holy

This is the long awaited full length of the band that consists on former Venom members, and although we haven't heard their previous mini album, Creatures Of The Night, we can say that this one will make all fans of the band rub their hands and bring huge grins on their faces. The music here screams 80's, both the nature of it, the way it's performed, the way it's arranged, everything sounds like it came from that glorious decade. The songs are straightforward, often enough flirting with Thrash, specially in the guitar riffs, full of energy, and raw power. The arrangements are very good, simple enough, but with enough nice melodic lines here and there, catchy riffs, and some very good ideas that the band explored to the maximum. Despite the feeling of the music, the production sounds fresh and updated, but doesn't alter the primitive sound and atmosphere the band wanted to create. Also don't expect virtuosity here, although some of the guitar solos are very good, simply because the structure of the album is not aiming for that. The vocals are harsh, a perfect mixture of Venom and Motorhead, primitive, raw and aggressive, while rhythm section manages to create a groovy music carpet, without complex tempos and frequent changes. As a result, the album is a headbanger, right from the first to the last minute, with songs full of energy, and riffs that might sound monotonous, but stick into your mind and make you move along with the rhythm. There are no weak points here, although some few moments are not as good as others, but the overall as the album finishes is good, and this will make you press play again on your player.

8/10