FRIENDS OF HELL
FRIENDS OF HELL “Friends of Hell”
By Octopi Mills
It is with interest to say we have Albert Witchfinder here. He has teamed up with Tas who was once in ELECTRIC WIZARD and currently in SATAN’S WRATH and MIRROR. To drive it home further; this has been released on Rise Above records. All around one expects a good album when in such company. Let me oil the old foghorner and we shall we exactly what these fellows are up to here…
The promo becomes something of a bonus feature itself; reading nearly like an interview with too much information to forward to you here. It becomes apparent with the first track that these men mean business making old school first and the house of houses. The greatness of something like WITCHFINDER GENERAL and PENTAGRAM burns through keeping that old flame- don't they know they are playing with the fires of danger here? “Shadow of the Impaler” rides it's heavy horse right through the door and into the house, trampling sinners and wicked as one. Albert proves himself, aging agelessly into the role of some kind of master. Fun making is at hand, paying homage to VITUS, WFG, CANDLEMASS, SABBATH, and all the others that were of the orange and red-yellow glow of that old fiery forge we know as metal. Real metal...words are too common and general to get too deep here.
The template is simple in scripture and rides upon the faithful riff, much as the horseman places trust in his mount and the footing and pace of such an adventure or enterprise. The element of 70s horror is a firm fixture and invokes the old pages of morbid comics inked in times now passed, and we have lost several epochs or eras that lasted so shortly and pass like everything must until found in the cabinets of antiquity and worked again to be refurbished in nostalgia . Though I would have preferred more atmospheric dressings and a older school style of production in the vein of SABBATH or ZEPPELIN in terms of tracking, this outdoes all in the field for a good while. A good start to a project here! I’m hoping of course it's not a one off affair or some kind of reckless fling.