There's something to Bloody Hammers music I cannot pinpoint exactly. I came across Bloody Hammers on Spotify a couple of years ago. I think I played the song "Say goodbye to the Sun" on repeat on some occasions. There's something to Anders Magna's voice I really like. Combined with the slow, doomy elements the sound creates a rather soothing mood for me. Even more impressive is, that Bloody Hammers consist of only two people. They have released an album a year since they formed in 2012. Their Self Titled debut has been on my vinyl target list for quite some while and I think I'll get it in the next few weeks. I haven't bought into their following release Spiritual Relics. It could not recreate that special mood the first album was able to inflict in me. So I found it especially intriguing to reveiew Under Satan's Sun just to see what kind of direction Bloody Hammers are going.
Quick Facts:
- Artist: Bloody Hammers - www.bloodyhammers.com/
- Album: Under Satan's Sun - released on May 30, 2014
- Version: Limited Edition, 180g Vinyl - Discogs Link
- Label: Napalm Records
- Found: at www.nuclearblast.de for only 12,90 € (Winter Sale)
Quality/artwork:
The skull, the cape, the coffin, the girl, the writing - everything on the cover basically screams 70s horror movie. If you google 70s horror movie posters you will see what I mean. The material of the gatefold is simple, no gloss or any extra. The left sleeve is glued shut, and I dislike it. Whoever produced this messed up quite a bit. There are a few openings, which is no biggie but the sleeve is quite wobbly due to being glued together badly. The back is nothing special, just prominently featuring the tracks on each side. I like what they did with the inner gatefold. On the left you find the lyrics. This is something I dislike a lot on many many records. They either leave out the lyrics entirely or include them as a one page inlay which is prone to get damaged (I am looking at you Mastodon!). The right side features Anders Magna (vocals/bass/guitar/drums) and Devallia (organ/keyboards), some b/w promo pics and the thank you notes. The actual sleeve holding the record is an anti-static paper sleeve. Nothing special but way better than other sleeves used in newer pressings. The record itself is 180g vinyl. It makes no difference in quality - it only feels better when holding the record in your hands. The print on the record is a picture of a woman in a goat/devils mask in front of some landscape with a typrical filter effect applied. Reminds me a lot of the cover of their debut album and I'm pretty sure that is no coincidence. This actually reminds me of the prints on older records I own. The color scheme is a deciation from the all the other colors used which seems a bit odd. Included in this edition is a very small poster of a a live gig in black and white.
The music:
I could not find any info on the mastering on my usual source (stevehoffman.tv). Since the band is offering losless .flac files via bandcamp it can be assumed that they did use a high quality master. Furthermore, I rarely read anything negative about Napalm Records releases. To my untrained ear this is definitely an album you can listen to at lower volume without loosing any of it's groove. Now the good thing first. Under Satan's Sun is back to the style on their debut album. It's catchy and a pleasure to listen to but not on the same level as the self titled debut. It is still a great album though. The opener "The town that dreaded sundown" is surprisingly straightforward rock with less occult/doom elements but sets the mood for what is about to come. I caught myself quite often nodding my head to the music. "Death does us part" - the second video release of the album, is quite a tricky song to me. It manages to catch the spirit of the first album but on the other hand some parts remind me of bloody HIM. This is maybe my only issue with the album. While most songs are great, I got the feeling I've listened to this before. "Welcome to the horror show" - the first video they released on youtube - could be covered by Marilyn Manson and noone would notice it's not his work. Again, this does not make the song a bad one, it just shows the obvious influences on the album.
Under Satan's Sun is the perfect record to listen to without paying much attention. The songs do not require much attention. The song structures are pretty straightforward with catchy refrains and well constructed bridges. The lyrics are as straightforward as the song structures. Nothing much left for your imagination here and nothing to read between the lines. This is what makes this abum so enjoyable, you can turn off your brain and pretty much enjoy it. Definitely the tunes I'd drunkenly dance to with my eyes closed at 4 a.m. in a metal club. My favorite song is definitely the namegiving "Under Satan's Sun". It reminds me a lot of their very first album. To me, the B side of the record is way better than the first one. While "Spearfinger" is the only track from Side A I'd put in a playlist I would put everyone on the other side in there.
To summarize: Bloody Hammers have gone back to the sound of the first album and created a very good but not great third album. I is definitely way better than "Spiritual Relics". If you're a fan of occult/psychadelic/doom metal give it a try.
I could not find any info on the mastering on my usual source (stevehoffman.tv). Since the band is offering losless .flac files via bandcamp it can be assumed that they did use a high quality master. Furthermore, I rarely read anything negative about Napalm Records releases. To my untrained ear this is definitely an album you can listen to at lower volume without loosing any of it's groove. Now the good thing first. Under Satan's Sun is back to the style on their debut album. It's catchy and a pleasure to listen to but not on the same level as the self titled debut. It is still a great album though. The opener "The town that dreaded sundown" is surprisingly straightforward rock with less occult/doom elements but sets the mood for what is about to come. I caught myself quite often nodding my head to the music. "Death does us part" - the second video release of the album, is quite a tricky song to me. It manages to catch the spirit of the first album but on the other hand some parts remind me of bloody HIM. This is maybe my only issue with the album. While most songs are great, I got the feeling I've listened to this before. "Welcome to the horror show" - the first video they released on youtube - could be covered by Marilyn Manson and noone would notice it's not his work. Again, this does not make the song a bad one, it just shows the obvious influences on the album.
Under Satan's Sun is the perfect record to listen to without paying much attention. The songs do not require much attention. The song structures are pretty straightforward with catchy refrains and well constructed bridges. The lyrics are as straightforward as the song structures. Nothing much left for your imagination here and nothing to read between the lines. This is what makes this abum so enjoyable, you can turn off your brain and pretty much enjoy it. Definitely the tunes I'd drunkenly dance to with my eyes closed at 4 a.m. in a metal club. My favorite song is definitely the namegiving "Under Satan's Sun". It reminds me a lot of their very first album. To me, the B side of the record is way better than the first one. While "Spearfinger" is the only track from Side A I'd put in a playlist I would put everyone on the other side in there.
To summarize: Bloody Hammers have gone back to the sound of the first album and created a very good but not great third album. I is definitely way better than "Spiritual Relics". If you're a fan of occult/psychadelic/doom metal give it a try.
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