Black Hill Cove – Broken
Release Date: 5th November 2021
Label: Raging Planet Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Thrash, Groove Metal.
FFO: Every Time I Die, Unearth, Trivium, Sylosis.
Review By: Jordan Burton-Morris
Ah good! I love a good power trio! Black Hill Cove are here with their studio debut full-length, ‘Broken‘. This Portuguese band formed in the lockdown crisis of 2020, something good to come of that year eh? The three musicians here are some of the biggest from the hardcore scene in Portugal, so big things are expected!
Opener, ‘Lutar Até Ao Fim‘ is a nice melodic instrumental, which is completely contrasted by the thrashy onslaught of ‘Angels Fall‘. The punkier tones of ‘The Wolf’ is up next, in which vocalist Rui mixes gutturals and clean vocals in a way that works amazingly well.
There is a very cool vibrato effect on the guitar at the beginning of ‘Broken Pieces‘, and ‘Standing Alone‘ has an eerie feel to it that features a mean breakdown even Unearth would be proud of.
‘Blindness‘ has a really good drum track, featuring some great syncopation. The vocals from Rui are again particularly well executed on this track, showing his versatile switch between gutturals and melody.
The techno-y start to ‘The Calling‘ instantly draws you in. This is probably the most experimental track on the album, but still has plenty of groove to keep you engaged.
The guitar is quite flamboyant on track 8, ‘The Hunt‘, and that’s not a bad thing! The solo here is insane!
Track 9, ‘Kill The Beast‘ is one of the more average tracks here, nothing bad about it, just nothing that stands out massively in my opinion.
‘Hole In The Head‘ is in fact, not a Sugarbabes cover, but an all-out thrash metal attack! Featuring a great bassline and awesome lead guitar!
Penultimate track ‘In The Shadows‘ has an amazing intro line, “Wake up, just another day” which instantly makes you listen on.
Finally, album closer ‘O Tempo Não Volta Atrás‘ is a melodic instrumental, similar to the opener. Only this time, the guitars join in, like a dramatic grand finale!
Overall, this is an album well worth listening to. With the thunderous bass, the multi-talented singer and the pounding drums, all topped with catchy riffs. These guys have the recipe for a good group. Hopefully there is more to come!
(4 / 5)
