HELLSPAWN
"Lords
of Eternity" (Rotten Records)
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter
Australia isn't necessarily known as a hotbed of black metal with
Destroyer 666 being a lone exception as far as familiarity is concerned. However, many Australian black metal bands are in the
underground and Hellspawn is one of the bands that figures to break out of the land Down Under to
more widespread popularity. It's also worth mentioning that Hellspawn is the side project of Matt
Sanders (Damaged) and echoes Scandinavia black metal giants rather than the hatecore his
main band is known for.
Hellspawn's sound is potent enough to dissolve glass in water as the raw black metal fury of "Lords
Of Eternity" contains enough atmospherics and classical influences to avoid direct comparisons to
the under-produced black metal of yesteryear. The music is intense, but not so aggressive
and fast that the more melodic and understated moments are lost in a wash of white noise. The
arrangements are fairly impressive and will always leave the listener anticipating the next musical
idea to fully express itself.
The standard anti-Christian rants are in abundance on "Lords Of Eternity." If you're into that sort of
thing then Hellspawn will give you some new ideas for thought. I, for one, have grown tired of the
anti-Christian philosophy as subject matter for metal lyrics, but there seems no end to it in sight.
While the subject matter is tiresome the actual choice of words in Hellspawn's lyrics are more than
original and certainly set them apart from most bands in the black metal trade.
If you're a fan of black metal Hellspawn's "Lords Of Eternity" is highly
recommended. Other metal fans may have to test the waters with some of the more well-known acts in the genre like Dimmu
Borgir and Borknagar before moving onto Hellspawn.
"Lords Of Eternity" was produced by Matt Sanders and is stellar given the nature of the timing of the
recording.
Hellspawn is Nekroslayer on vomits, Masochist on chainsaws, Lord Of The Deep on cables, Tormentor on undertones, and Matt on battery.
For more information visit http://www.rottenrecords.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2001 by R. Scott Bolton. All
rights reserved.
Revised: 28 Oct 2024 12:36:40 -0500
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