Hooded Menace – The Tritonus Bell
Release Date: 27th August 2021
Label: Season of Mist
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Doom, Traditional Metal.
FFO: Paradise Lost, King Diamond, Amon Amarth.
Review By: Ken Love
Finland’s Hooded Menace are a band that I’ve been aware of since their second album, Effigies of Evil. When that album was released in 2012 the term ‘Death Doom’ was not really in my vocabulary. At that time, as a fan of the pace of thrash metal, I found Death Doom, or Funeral Doom, to be too slow to be able to maintain my attention. I found it dull. All that said, Effigies of Evil was an album that started a shift in my own personal thoughts towards this style of metal; there was a certain soulfulness to the music that was imbued through it’s droning pace and, when the band ramped the tempo up, it was incredibly affecting & made me want to headbang like I would to Pantera. In the time since then, Hooded Menace have become a somewhat darling of the underground, champions of Death Doom and one of the most widely revered bands of their ilk across the metalsphere. Rightly so. Everything I enjoyed about Effigies of Evil has been dialled up through their subsequent discography culminating in the quite awesome, Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed in 2018. Which, to these ears, is a masterclass in Death Doom; affecting, moody, energising – thanks to its constant twists and turns in pace – while vocalist Harri Kuokkanen has a perfect balance of power and clarity in his delivery. If you’ve not explored that record do so, then go through the rest of their flawless discography.
This leads us to the latest instalment in the Hooded Menace canon ‘The Tritonus Bell’. ‘The Tritonus Bell’ has been touted as the bands’ homage to classic 80s metal which could feel something of a departure for the band. Don’t get me wrong, the bands love of artists like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden is clear from the twin guitar leads and melodic guitar interludes that permeate their material, yet that wouldn’t necessarily be considered the dominant approach in their music. When opening track ‘Chime Diabolicus’ rattles out the traps there is such little attempt at subtlety that they include an actual explosion when the drums kick in. This is Hooded Menace but one that’s up for a party; more Amon Amarth than Cathedral with it’s rollicking pace and overblown metallic guitars. Yet, it does settle back into a more traditional HM pace which serves as the template across the album. The touted faster tempos, energy & traditional metal power is here but the elements you loved about the band are still here too; they’re just fucking with the formula a bit. More power to them as it works a dream. ‘Blood Ornaments’ is Hooded Menace if they were playing with King Diamond; all the more relevant as KD guitarist Andy LaRoque mixed and mastered the record. ‘Those Who Absorb the Night’ is a return to more customary Death Doom fare but it’s droning, morose temperament is complimented perfectly by the more buoyant material preceding it. The way this band manage to stir emotions and pull the heart strings through their compositions is something that is quite special; it’s why they are the darlings they are. ‘Corpus Asunder’ has a thunderous & driving riff that catapults it along before it retiring in on itself with vocalist Kuokkanen conjuring his most convincing Celtic Frost/Tryptikon Tom G Warrior croon; it’s another perfect balance of soulful doom and rollicking classic metal. ‘Scattered Into Dark’, the last song proper, is another in the vein of ‘Those Who Absorb The Night’, whose slow & elephantine stomp is perfectly complimented and enhanced by the faster, more energetic material preceding it; this leads into the albums closing instrumental ‘Instruments of Somber Finality’ which clearly serves as an opportunity for the band to employ every trope of classic 80s metal guitarplay and showmanship they presented across the record; it’s a stirring and perfectly appropriate end to the record. At least it would be were it not for the cover of WASPs ‘the Torture Never Stops’ which is – actually – the perfect end to this record. What a ripping cover this is. The perfect example of a band taking a song and making it their own. It takes a brilliant song and makes it just heavier and more powerful. Dare I say it, the same way Machine Head did for ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ (is that sacrilege?)
Will Hooded Menace crossover with ‘The Tritonus Bell’? It’s unlikely, but they should appeal to metal fans from across the spectrum. They are one of the most exciting, cool and talented bands in metal & their song-writing skills are impeccable.
Hooded Menace again showing they are masters of their craft.
(4 / 5)
