Description
Black vinyl with insert and vinyl single. Limited 450 copies
Hobbs Angel Of Death should be a household name for every well-informed thrash metal fan. Hailing from Melbourne, Victoria, the Australian band first started out as a solo project of main man and former Tyrus-guitarist Peter Hobbs, and one can rightfully say that they belong to the pioneers of mid-Eighties’ Australian thrash metal. The two demos “Angel of Death” and “Virgin Metal Invasion from Down Under” were followed by the self-titled debut album in 1988 which thrilled thrashers on both halves of the globe; 1995 saw the release of the sophomore album “Inheritance” and sadly, in spite of the cult status they had acquired in the meantime, Hobbs’ Angel of Death dissolved soon after its release. That could have been the end of it, but In 2002 the band got reformed, signed a four-album deal the next year and have been alive and kicking ever since. Actually it’s almost 23 years since ‘Inheritance’ was recorded. If one has ever wondered why it regularly takes Peter so long to record and release new stuff, the answer may lie in his perfectionism: “I’ve recorded the new album three times. I was my goal to give to the industry a more mature album. The previous attempts were great but I was not totally satisfied with the results so I kept at it until I knew and felt that my achievement was made, and it clearly shines through within the 2016 album. I believe that ‘Heaven Bled’ is just as great a the earlier albums, all written and produced by myself for a wider range of musical tastes and catering for more people in all fields of metal.” Some people say that Hobbs’ Angel of Death play thrash metal in the Slayer vein while Peter himself refers to his music as “virgin metal”, an “untainted and pure form of metal”. Is this also true for “Heaven Bled”? “I’m glad you brought that question up. I played just before Slayer in Finland at Jalomettalii 2013 – a thirty year wait! I asked Kerry King the question if he felt or thought or heard that Hobbs’ was a Slayer cover band. His reply was ‘I’ve heard of Hobbs’ Angel of Death but no, you have your own style compared to us !!!!!!’ But it’s a fact, I love Slayer!!!!!!” So, looks like this question has been answered once and for all. Peter wrote all the music for the hEAVEN bLED Album and did all the arrangements himself. “I’ve been doing this since day one. I’ve had the songs on the album in the works for many years, some of them I even wrote almost 30 years ago. I revamped some old riffs with the modern feel and it’s paid off for the release of ‘Heaven Bled’.” Even though it seems to be a good guess, the opener “Il monstro di Firenzi” is not a contribution by bassist Alessio “Cane” Medici: “I had written this song some time ago but I was still looking for a title. A lot of my tunes are inspired by history, just like the cult song ‘Jack the Ripper’ from our debut album. Here it was the same: I did some research of where the murders where committed by the Florence monster and I actually walked around the areas and felt the ground and breathed the air and tried to put my self within the same frame of mind as these serial killers, so the song just fell into place.” “Heaven Bled” was recorded at the West Link Studio in Italy: “I had arranged to meet the engineer to get a feel of him and his studio. I walked in and saw the old school sound craft desk!!!!! I was at home and I new from seeing his equipment that Ovi could get me the sound I wanted, so I made the right choice. I’m very happy with the product, I knew exactly what I wanted and had full focus on every result.” Peter knows of course that this status would mean nothing if it wasn’t for his loyal Hobbs’ fans, thus his last words here go to them: “I’d like to thank all Hobbs’ supporters for the love and respect from people that is greatly given to me.
Track list:
1. Il Mostro Di Firenzi
2. Walk My Path
3. Final Feast
4. Drawn and Quartered
5. Heaven Bled
6. Sadistic Domination
7. Son of God
8. TMMF
9. Hypocrites
10. Abomination
Vinyl single:
1. Depopulation
2. Suicide