Review: Hail of Bullets - On Divine Winds

Band: Hail of Bullets
Album: On Divine Winds
Year: 2010
Country: The Netherlands
Genre: Death Metal

I love Hail of Bullets so to say I was awaiting On Divine Winds is to put it lightly. ...Of Frost and War had become one of my favorite death metal album and the band itself harkens back to the simplistic groovy style of Bolt Thrower, war themed lyrics included!

Where on the last album HoB seemed to be almost a shadow of Asphyx with their doomy sections on this release they had cut back significantly on the doom and gone for straight mid paced death metal. Sure there are still slower parts but as a whole the album moves along a bit more quickly than before.

There is an undeniable groove to the riffs constructed here. You have the main riff of Operation Z or the easy to headbang to Guadalcanal that has a sort of bounce to the verse riffs. Like I said the slower numbers are still there, To Bear the Unbearable is kind of the epic ending track and like Berlin from the last album it marches along slowly. Tokyo Napalm Holocaust has a few chuggy sections that sound absolutely bad ass as well but a lot of the song crawls and those more speedier sections are almost separate climaxes.

Martin Van Drunen as always brings his A game. He has one of those growls where as soon as you hear it you know exactly who it is. On ODW he belts out line after line of lyrics pertaining to the Pacific theater. I like what the band has going here with the different theaters of war they are exploring with each album.

As always the production is massive. Dan Swano over at Unisound Studio once again did the mixing/mastering. The guitar sound is thick but not in the way you usually think. They sound like a freight train more than anything else. The mix is done pretty well and the guitars/vocals are up from with the drums not far behind. The bass guitar for the most part is no where to be found, maybe I just don't have it up loud enough though. But I think if they gave Theo Van Eekelen more room and a higher spot in the mix they could improve the heaviness of their sound even further. I always loved how Jo Bench filled out the bottom end of Bolt Throwers sound and it would be cool if that was done here as well.

On Divine Winds is an improvement on the foundations HoB laid with OFaW. This is sort of a defining record where they drop the Asphyxisms and do their own thing. Now their own thing might sound really close to what Bolt Thrower was doing but this doesn't bother me one bit. This band still has their own identity though and a sound that is quite their own. This along with God Dethroned's album is easily one of the top releases of 2010.

Score: 9/10
Standout Track: Operation Z, Tokyo Napalm Holocaust, Guadalcanal, Full Scale War

Review: Hail of Bullets - ...Of Frost and War

Band: Hail of Bullets
Album: ...Of Frost and War
Year: 2008
Genre: Death Metal

Hail of Bullets will never be described as trying to reinvent the wheel. In fact you could say they are de-constructing it down to its bare bones! The band mixes the tried and true formula and style of Bolt Thrower with a tinge of doom (a la Asphyx) and a dash of old school Swedish death metal.

The production is great I have to give them props. While the album is sort of a throw back to old school death metal it does have that gritty feel but its still sounds clean at the same time. The guitar tone especially should be taken note of. Just listen as Before the Storm transitions into Ordered Eastward. The guitars sound like a tank is rolling up on you!

There is also a lot of atmosphere on OFaW. Pay special attention to Berlin when looking at this aspect of the album. The song is laden with doom riffs but they help underscore the feeling of defeat the Germans must have experienced. The last couple of minutes of the song especially give off this feeling with a massively catchy riff that’s played over a doom one as they eventually fade into silence ending the album.

As much as I love this album I have to admit there are a few problems. For one it seems to me to be just a song or two too long. Perhaps it’s because some of the songs actually sound quite alike. The biggest factor in them sounding the same is probably the fact that the riffs mainly lack differentiation.

But there are still a lot of good riffs here. Tracks like Ordered Eastward, Advancing Once More, Insanity Commands, and Berlin all have really catchy guitar parts. In The Red Wolves of Stalin there is probably my favorite part of the album where the music is going without any vocals and out of no where van Drunen comes in with his tortured vocals screaming “slit their fucking throats”.

Speaking of van Drunen he does a really good job on the album. His voice fits the music and lyrical topic(s) perfectly since he comes off sounding like some dying soldier in their death throes screaming their lungs out. I get a kick out of when he just randomly throws a death growl out there into the song for no specific reason (the intro to Ordered Eastward for example) which happens often. In Ordered Eastward Mr. Dan Swano provides guest vocals and they sound really good, in fact I wouldn’t have minded seeing him a little more on the album.

The album is a solid mix of death/doom leaning a bit more on the death side of things which is very pleasing. Though I don’t think the band did enough to differentiate themselves from Asphyx (Martin’s other band) they would fix this with their next album. But …Of Frost and War is still a very good album that switches up the tempo quite often between slower doom and thrashing death metal. While this album does have its flaws the good far outweighs the bad.

Score: 8/10
Standout Track: Ordered Eastward

Favorite Metal Music Videos

Whether its because of the song or video itself here are a few of my favorites:

In Flames - Ordinary Story



Bolt Thrower - Cenotaph



Hail of Bullets - Operation Z



Carcass - Incarnated Solvent Abuse



Death - Lack of Comprehension



Lots and lots more but this is it for now!

Well...

I guess I could get to blogging, my thoughts on current/old school metal and different things in the world of extreme metal.

I got some stuff in the mail at the moment:

Skeletonwitch - Beyond the Permafrost
Hail of Bullets - ...Of Frost and War
Thine Eyes Bleed - Separation (I think that was it, maybe it was their other album)
The Crown - Crowned In Terror

I'm excited for some Skeletonwitch since I've recently become interested in Blackened Thrash and I've heard good things about the band. With The Crown, well its got Tomas Lindberg on vocals what else can I say?! Thine Eyes Bleed is supposed to be in the same vein as The Crown as thrashy Melodeath and its got Tom Araya's brother on bass. Hail of Bullets seems to be the spiritual successor to Bolt Thrower in some ways so I just had to check it out! Can't wait for them to get here so I can get some listens in!