BLOODY HAMMERS "The Summoning"

BLOODY HAMMERS

“The Summoning”

BLOODY HAMMERS has never really gotten a firm hold on their style...until now. With “The Summoning”, I think they’ve finally hit the right groove. This album hits just the right balance between Goth, metal, and rock elements and winds up as an entertaining trip to the more commercial side of horror in metal.

They wear their lyrical influences on their cobweb draped sleeves...early 70’s horror movies, particularly the Amicus anthology films. “Now The Screaming Starts”, “Tales That Witness Madness”, “From Beyond the Grave”...any connoisseur of atmospheric horror featuring busty babes and Peter Cushing on the prowl will recognize these song titles. So we know where HAMMERS is coming from in terms of themes and inspiration. But what about the music?

This is a lot more focused and direct than anything this band has done in the past. Crunchy guitars are present in spades, but so are eerie keyboards and crooning clean vocals. This is really what Goth metal is supposed to be. Admittedly this is very accessible and even commercial, but I don’t mind that if the hooks are there. And in songs like “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie”, “Fire In the Dark” and “Tales That Witness Madness” those hooks are waiting to sink deep into your tender flesh. “The Beast Is Coming Out” is one tune that focuses more of Gothy keys than anything heavy, but since the songs surrounding it are more aggressive, it’s easier to take. That wasn’t always the case with BLOODY HAMMERS earlier output.

Yes, boys and ghouls, I think Mr. Manga, Mistress Devalla and their drummer the Invisible Man (check out the video for “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie” to see what I mean) have found their formula at last. If you can accept a kind of metal that’s not only about rabid destruction, “The Summoning” is worth digging up.

NAPALM RECORDS

BLOODY HAMMERS