I’ve long considered the Hells Headbangers label to be a stamp of approval. Since I started following them a decade ago (or a little over considering Midnight’s Satanic Royalty dropped in November, 2011), I don’t think they’ve put out a single album that I would rate less than a 7. The only other American label I can think of that comes close in consistency is Unspeakable Axe. On that note, it is with great pleasure I review the first Hells Headbangers release of 2022, Druid Lord’s Relics of the Dead.
Hailing from the land of alligators, Disney World, and news headlines beyond belief (Florida, in case you were wondering), Druid Lord sees former Acheron members Pete Slate and Tony Blakk unite to create a much different type of death metal than that which they’re known for. Gone are the blackened leanings of their past. In Druid Lord, this dynamic duo, alongside drummer Elden Santos and additional guitarist Chris Wicklein, are laying down some truly devastating death/doom, with an emphasis on death. Their third album, Relics of the Dead, could very well be the lost soundtrack to a 70s zombie movie in slow-mo.
Musically speaking, Relics of the Dead is rooted in classic old school death metal circa ’89. What makes it doom metal is the painfully slow and crushingly heavy manner of the riffs, as well as the fact that each song is dragged out to 6+ minutes in length. This formula is on full display in the album’s opening title track. It’s so putrid; I could practically feel maggots crawling on my skin, and the closing breakdown is beyond brutal. “Thirteen Days of Death” is an exercise in funeral death (as opposed to funeral doom), while the midtempo mosh grooves of of “Mangled as the Hideous Feed” is enough to wake the dead.
After a brief acoustic interlude in “Nightside Conjuring”, we’re greeted by a second batch of songs that largely follow in the same template as the first. If the intro to “Immolated Into Ashes” were any slower, I’d worry that it was I being immolated mid-listen! The song’s contrast of dreary doom and blistering death make for an intense affair. “Festering Tombs” lives up to its name, doubling down on the doom and gloom, while closer “Monarch Macabre” might be the doomiest cut of all. Towards the end, we’re greeted by the slightest tinge of morose atmosphere, but don’t be fooled. If you’re looking for a Peaceville worship album, look elsewhere.
When it comes to cryptic, eerie, punishing death/doom, Druid Lord have the market cornered. I honestly can’t remember the last time a death metal release made me feel so…dead! Man, I better check for a pulse after this one, or we’re gonna be in deep trouble. I advise you do the same, or at the very least have a defibrillator at hand. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! These Floridian freaks feast upon flesh!
7 out of 10
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Genre: Death/Doom Metal
For fans of: Autopsy, Hooded Menace, Acid Witch