Description
2007 re-issue with 4 bonus live tracks
Swindon based Iron Hearse class themselves as a doom band but they manage to distance themselves from the Sabbath aping hordes by peppering their sound with a classic rock/metal vibe that strongly evokes the vintage tones of Lunar Womb era Obsessed rather than the dirge crawl of most of todays doom crew. This whole disc is a veritable riff-fest par excellence, the guys know the value of keeping it simple and effective, throwing one crushing groove on top of another. Opening track Rocktopus slays from the off with one of the finest riffs known to man, Tony Iommi will be kicking himself for not thinking of this little beauty while All Graves Empty sounds positively upbeat. The quality stays high throughout as Iron Hearse show a belief in classic songwriting techniques, choruses flow like a fine wine topped of with Grant Powells throaty blues wail. The Obsessed comparisons dont stop with the riffs, Grants vocals come across like a younger, slightly less pissed off Wino and his lead playing follows the same rapid fire jazz infused rain of notes as the great man himself. I get the impression the band didnt have much time available to record this. There are some noticeable blips the odd bum note but this somehow adds to the charm and gives a true impression of the band. Perfection is severely overrated and this disc shows a fine band in flight. That said the production is impressively thick with the guitars driving the sound forward like the front row of the England scrum. The live tracks, whilst not exactly essential, two of the four tracks appear elsewhere on the album, are of decent quality and show that the Hearse are a force to be reckoned with live. Swindon may not have much to offer. For the most part its just a place you pass on the M4 on the way from Bristol to London and its key contributions to the entertainment industry to date have been Melinda Messenger, quiffed up mockney Mark Lamar and quirky new wave popsters XTC but Iron Hearse show that it may just be worth a visit some time.
Track listing:
1. Rocktopus
2. All Graves Empty
3. Blessed by the Anvil
4. Crown of Doom
5. Wrong Remains
6. Black Tapestry
7. Chronovisor
8. Reactor IV
9. Gorgons Kiss
10. Eternal Frost
11. Ruins of Doom-live in Bath UK December 2006
12. All Graves Empty-live in Bath UK December 2006
13. Winter of Discontent-live in Bath UK December 2006
14. Chronovisor-live in Bath UK December 2006