Hellfire - Requiem For My Bride
Sonic Age - SARECD005 - 28/03/2005
By Patrick Walsh
From Poland come, kicking and screaming no doubt, Hellfire. A band intent on carrying on in the grand tradition of the power-thrash concept album, once the staple of King Diamond, who are obviously the band's main influence. Requiem for my Bride is power-thrash but not in the wishy-washy, sugary, "where are the fucking riffs!?" variety. Thankfully, Hellfire manage to inject a sense of real aggression into proceedings, and this, their second album, turns in quite a sterling performance in places. The intro 'Fallen Mary' doesn't exactly raise hopes too high with it's cheesy female spoken-word monologue, but when 'Road to Hell' opens in all it's fury, Requiem for my Bride quickly makes itself known.
Perhaps power-thrash is a little limiting; 'power-tech-thrash' might be a little more apt, as Hellfire are able to write nicely intricate pieces whilst maintaining a good sense of groove. Much of the riffwork is in fact not unlike Annihilator in their heyday. Vocalist Tomasz Twardowski has an all-too apparent King Diamond fetish to get over, but his performance is nonetheless spirited and above average, in fact, his fearless snarl often recalls Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, and his frequent raspy drawl is slightly reminiscent of that most disgruntled of punk maniacs Jello Biafra.
Whilst this all may sound a little odd, Hellfire are in fact quite a nifty little outfit. Anyone familiar with my previous reviews of bands of this ilk will be aware that it takes an awful lot to impress me if you've chosen to espouse your muse in a tight-trousered mould, but these guys are the real deal. Heavy with a proper dirty production, satisfying and remarkably light on cheese (possibly because it's not quite apparent what Tomasz is howling about most of the time), Requiem for my Bride may be a throwback to the 80s, but it's an authentic throwback all the same, and is sure to please all who bemoan the streamlining of modern thrash.
8/10
Official Sonic Age Records Website
Sonic Age - SARECD005 - 28/03/2005
By Patrick Walsh
From Poland come, kicking and screaming no doubt, Hellfire. A band intent on carrying on in the grand tradition of the power-thrash concept album, once the staple of King Diamond, who are obviously the band's main influence. Requiem for my Bride is power-thrash but not in the wishy-washy, sugary, "where are the fucking riffs!?" variety. Thankfully, Hellfire manage to inject a sense of real aggression into proceedings, and this, their second album, turns in quite a sterling performance in places. The intro 'Fallen Mary' doesn't exactly raise hopes too high with it's cheesy female spoken-word monologue, but when 'Road to Hell' opens in all it's fury, Requiem for my Bride quickly makes itself known.
Perhaps power-thrash is a little limiting; 'power-tech-thrash' might be a little more apt, as Hellfire are able to write nicely intricate pieces whilst maintaining a good sense of groove. Much of the riffwork is in fact not unlike Annihilator in their heyday. Vocalist Tomasz Twardowski has an all-too apparent King Diamond fetish to get over, but his performance is nonetheless spirited and above average, in fact, his fearless snarl often recalls Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, and his frequent raspy drawl is slightly reminiscent of that most disgruntled of punk maniacs Jello Biafra.
Whilst this all may sound a little odd, Hellfire are in fact quite a nifty little outfit. Anyone familiar with my previous reviews of bands of this ilk will be aware that it takes an awful lot to impress me if you've chosen to espouse your muse in a tight-trousered mould, but these guys are the real deal. Heavy with a proper dirty production, satisfying and remarkably light on cheese (possibly because it's not quite apparent what Tomasz is howling about most of the time), Requiem for my Bride may be a throwback to the 80s, but it's an authentic throwback all the same, and is sure to please all who bemoan the streamlining of modern thrash.
8/10
Official Sonic Age Records Website
