Review: Old Mother Hell ”Old Mother Hell”

Old Mother Hell – ”Old Mother Hell” (Cruz Del Sur Music) 

Old Mother Hell are a power trio from Germany. And as the biography pointed out, some of the best Metal bands are trios… with Destruction, Motörhead and Sodom being the bands mentioned, which immediately made me aware of what to expect,  so I thought; Nope, this is much cleaner affair. Clean vocals, strong riffing and some superb (complex) drumming. I guess heavy Metal with doom and progressive influences, the latter just for the drums.

There is a hint at more extreme tendencies as well, as the beginning of ”Mountain” hints, just a little, at the slower end of Slayer’s palette, circa Seasons In The Abyss. Vocal wise, I’m detecting some Blackie Lawless as well. It’s just a shame that the song is only four and half minutes long, as I think they could have turned this into a huge eight minute centre piece, maybe in the future they can re-work it, if the desire is there.

After the third track kicked in, I had to go back to the opener, ”Another War”, it’s less obvious on this one, but how did I miss the W.A.S.P. influences on my first play?

It is mainly due to the vocals, as the music shoots off on a few different tangents, including the uber jam feel of ”Howling Wolves” which hits this 70’s inspired grooving with power, before drifting off into a catchy chorus and then galloping guitar solo.

I like what Old Mother Hell are doing. Sure, there are some very obvious comparisons to be made, but these guys really know how to construct a good song, and also how to play with feeling. They’ve taken some good bits from the 70’s and the 80’s and mixed them up to create a feelgood Metal album. And as a relatively new band, it’ll be interesting to see how they progress from here.

Just from hearing this release, it’s obvious why Cruz Del Sur signed them, they could have a major discovery on their hands…

https://www.facebook.com/oldmotherhell/