If we were judging today’s band by their name alone, it’d be an automatic 10/10. It doesn’t get more badass than Steel Bearing Hand. Based off that name, you’d probably assume SBH plays some throwback 80s US power metal worship. And you’d assume wrong. If you’re of a certain age (50+), clearly you remember the whirlwind that was extreme metal’s origins and subsequent evolution. Some bands were hard to classify and still are to this day. Is *x band* thrash, death, or black metal? The same question arises while listening to the latest SBH album, Slay in Hell. There are moments throughout that lean more upon one of these subgenres than the other. What they all have in common is an unrelenting force that’s bound to melt your face off.
Slay in Hell opens with the commanding “Command of the Infernal Exarch”. No pun intended, I promise. Though not as blatant as the new Enforced album, the Slayer-isms are there and I’m totally digging them. It’s got barbed wire riffs, superior soloing, d-beats for days, and throat shredding vocals. Scratch that…vokillz. It’s thrash metal overload with a heavy dose of death. Following it up is a pure audio hell storm, “Lich Gate”. There’s so much going on this cut. Imagine if Master and Venom snorted glue and got into a fistfight. Throw in a mosh friendly breakdown for good measure and you’ve got “Lich Gate”.
In just the first two tracks, SBH showcases black, death, thrash, and d-beat, but they’re far from finished. You want death/doom with an extra dose of death? You’ve got it. “Tombspawn” opens with slow, thick, tower toppling riffs à la Cianide. Hell, the last time death/doom was this hooky and memorable was when Cianide released their last EP, Unhumanized. And considering Cianide releases music at a snail’s pace, this is the next best thing. “Per Tenebras Ad Lucem” continues the stud encrusted energy of “Lich Gate” while doubling down on filth and fury of early Venom. Meanwhile, “‘Til Death and Beyond” opens with a Mercyful Fate fashioned riff before segueing into a no nonsense neck snapper that wouldn’t sound out of place on Reign in Blood.
Closing it all out is “Ensanguined”. Ending an album with a 12 and a half minute song is a ballsy move for any band, let alone a band predominantly rooted in thrash. Ideally, you’d think a band would want to go for the throat, saving the fastest and deadliest for last. SBH does the opposite. “Ensanguined” is deadly alright, but also proof positive that slow and steady wins the race. For the first 8 minutes, we’re battered by a barrage of Cianide riffs, each one doomier than the last. If doom isn’t your cup of tea and you find yourself nodding off, at the 8 minute mark, SBH delivers the rudest awakening of the year with one last blast of thrash before closing out with even more doom. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So is the music of SBH as high quality as their band name? I’d say pretty damn close. It’s always exciting when a thrash band brings something new to the table, as opposed to the same old, formulaic excuse for thrash we’ve become accustomed to. Slay in Hell lives up to its name because it totally slays dude! And yes, you just read that last sentence in your best Spicoli voice.
9 out of 10
Label: Carbonized Records
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Master, Venom, Cianide