Transylvania…while it did indeed exist as a region (we just call it central Romania these days), when you hear the word, the first thing you conjure up is the image of Count Dracula in his castle in the Carpathian mountains…moonlight, creepy forestry, bats…the traditional vampire lore and all of its clichés…so when a band by the name of BLOODY HAMMERS forms out of Transylvania County, North Carolina in the United States, it’s absolutely no surprise to learn where a lot of their influence is derived. With a lot of their album art influenced by old-school horror movie posters, and music inspired by the likes of BLACK SABBATH and NICK CAVE, you can tell right away we’re in for a gloomy treat and just recently they dropped a brand new EP by the name of “The Horrific Case Of The Bloody Hammers”…Have they come to suck your blood or, do they just suck? Let’s find out…
We rather appropriately open up at the “Gates Of Hell” and it gives the listener a pretty good idea as to where this EP is heading thematically. Musically we’re treated to a classic surge of hard rock riffs and chugging bass, while front-man Anders Manga’s deep vocals add character and a sense of dread...add to that a spooky yet catchy organ fill, it’s a decent opener…the organ provides us with the introduction on follow up track “Blood” too and it’s clear the band are very much in gimmick, though I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense…although generally slower than our opener, its tone is very brooding, bass-driven until the chorus comes to life with another surge of hard rock…seriously if Dracula had his own in-house band it’d probably be these guys…you can imagine Bela Lugosi hanging there, upside down, head-banging away…
“The Beyond” shifts in tone entirely and here we have an even slower, morose, otherworldly rock ballad…it’s very dreary as Anders sings of an inhuman being, avoiding contact with humanity, awaiting his journey home for he knows they don’t understand, they fear what they can’t comprehend and will kill him and you can’t help but feel guilty, as it resonates to a degree in today’s climate…a lack of understanding culturally, religiously, racially; alienation…and it’s quite a powerful track. “The Blood Sucker Leads The Dance” is similar in its tone and delivers a really dark, haunting track that easily channels the influence of Nick Cave, the melancholic poetry providing one of the EP’s clear highlights, before we finish up on “All The Colours Of The Dark”…a really trippy, synth driven piece, from the perspective of (from what I can gather) a would-be bride of Dracula…he’s watched her, he’s chosen her, he’s taken her and imprisoned her, she longs to see the light of day again but she’s helpless, and he waits for her inevitable submission, there’s a good story behind this track and it closes the EP well. I feel the balance between the classic rock and almost stoner-inspired gothic elements is just right here and it suits the theme and concept perfectly…there’s nothing horrific about this EP at all, it’s actually an enjoyable listen…those bloody hammers…why do you turn this blog into a house of lies? [7]
We rather appropriately open up at the “Gates Of Hell” and it gives the listener a pretty good idea as to where this EP is heading thematically. Musically we’re treated to a classic surge of hard rock riffs and chugging bass, while front-man Anders Manga’s deep vocals add character and a sense of dread...add to that a spooky yet catchy organ fill, it’s a decent opener…the organ provides us with the introduction on follow up track “Blood” too and it’s clear the band are very much in gimmick, though I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense…although generally slower than our opener, its tone is very brooding, bass-driven until the chorus comes to life with another surge of hard rock…seriously if Dracula had his own in-house band it’d probably be these guys…you can imagine Bela Lugosi hanging there, upside down, head-banging away…
“The Beyond” shifts in tone entirely and here we have an even slower, morose, otherworldly rock ballad…it’s very dreary as Anders sings of an inhuman being, avoiding contact with humanity, awaiting his journey home for he knows they don’t understand, they fear what they can’t comprehend and will kill him and you can’t help but feel guilty, as it resonates to a degree in today’s climate…a lack of understanding culturally, religiously, racially; alienation…and it’s quite a powerful track. “The Blood Sucker Leads The Dance” is similar in its tone and delivers a really dark, haunting track that easily channels the influence of Nick Cave, the melancholic poetry providing one of the EP’s clear highlights, before we finish up on “All The Colours Of The Dark”…a really trippy, synth driven piece, from the perspective of (from what I can gather) a would-be bride of Dracula…he’s watched her, he’s chosen her, he’s taken her and imprisoned her, she longs to see the light of day again but she’s helpless, and he waits for her inevitable submission, there’s a good story behind this track and it closes the EP well. I feel the balance between the classic rock and almost stoner-inspired gothic elements is just right here and it suits the theme and concept perfectly…there’s nothing horrific about this EP at all, it’s actually an enjoyable listen…those bloody hammers…why do you turn this blog into a house of lies? [7]
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