"Witness the Millennium"
Deadline Records
By Vinnie Apicella I have witnessed the new millennium… and all I can say is God help us! The name says it all-I mean, what are you gonna expect with a name like The Electric Hellfire Club, an all night prayer session? Yes, dear Lord please deliver us from every evil and look after us in these trying times… Forget it-this is dark, dramatic and absolutely soulless-and this LaVey guy quoted on the back provides for a fitting theme in the overall despair quotient all throughout this demonic discourse that "Witness the Millennium" is bound to preach! Who's this "Kirk Carrion," anyway-Devil's disciple bound to extract his ill gotten will on the unsuspecting outerworld? Oh, it's actually known as "Church of the Dead." And there's a pretty good story behind this whole thing that'll unquestionably amuse those of the supernaturalism variety! It's music for the madness… or masses as the case may be, and an education in pure evil too! I don't know if we're talking growing pains here but there's definitely more than enough for maximum human consumption-with their fourth full length, the history of EHC is one of infernal intrigue-but the important thing to note here is that "Witness the Millennium" was produced by none other than Black Metal legends Venom, and is not surprisingly their heaviest delivery to date! This time, the band chose to blaze an even more fiery trail through the dark, bursting out with blunt-ended riffs to define their already booming industrial firepower-effectively draining the electrical power and trading it in for what amounts to a full on nuclear attack! Amazingly, and this has as much to do with the gothic surroundings the band found themselves in during the recording process as anything, "Witness the Millennium," sounds eerily close to the vintage early recordings of those who once the led within the Black Metal underground. With barely a hint of mixology or melody, EHC roars forth like a possessed blast furnace, spitting fire from every angle after the initial explosion-yes, witness the millennium, should you live long enough, but first witness the likes of "One Dark Horse," "The Bishop's Folly" and "Paradise Reclaimed"-all formulated in a cold and nihilistic setting bled by lyrical possession and shadowy aura of deep destruction. "The Monkey's Paw," however, right away brings you back to their impenetrable past, where the driving beats assimilate with blood fed moments of sinister synthetics showered down in a black rain of pyrotechnic rage… an inspired classic, but one that makes for a clear statement of this not so subtle change that's taken place here... in this lair that lies on the other side. And by the end, at which point you've abandoned all hope, there's a shuddering cover of the Maiden classic-you guessed it-which just fits the overall theme and while it's a bit quirky at first, has a cool vibe that presents our winged hero in an almost unimaginable light… "Witness the Millennium" tells a foreboding tale of tragedy with a wicked new twist for a group that's made plenty of their own dark waves in the past… and now bringing their own brand of Apocalyptic terror out of the dark and into the blackening hearts of lost souls forever waiting for their savior… |
More from the Online Metal Journal |
 |
|
|
|