Nihilistic Empire Records
Thulsa Doom was the evil
magician that two heroes of the mighty Robert E. Howard had to confront and I
mean Kull and Conan. It seems that both these warriors didn’t do a good work
since Thulsa managed to survive and use his special black arts in musical
craftsmanship. The result of his sinister art is the band TULSADOOM which has
recently released their second album (almost 3 years after their debut entitled
“Barbarian Steel”) and carries the title “Storms of the Netherworld”. So let us
ride the storm and see what thrills it will offer us…
THE COVER: It is one of the most beautiful and epic covers that I have
seen lately. It looks like an oil painting and it is really dark and epic as I
mentioned. It has a chaotic feel and I think this is mainly because of the
mixture of dark colors like deep blue and purple. On the cover now you can see
a barbarian (probably the known to all of us Cimmerian) that attacks an army of
undead warriors. It is an image that captures your fantasy and makes you
imagine the closure of this fight.
MUSICAL STYLE: The sophomore album of TULSADOOM comes three years
after their debut release and this space between the two releases indicates an
era where the band had the time to evolve and craft a more personal sound and
actually they have managed to do that. Their new album is an amalgam of
speed/thrash metal riffs and also from time to time it flirts with the
traditional 80’s heavy metal sound. You can find in their sound influences from
bands like VENOM, KREATOR and early DESTRUCTION, but there are also references
to SLAYER and the bay area thrash metal scene. And when you finally think that
this is a 100% thrash metal release you listen to some nice heavy metal tunes.
The blackened – harsh vocals give to the whole album a dark and violent
attitude. I can’t explain how, but there are moments that the band creates an
epic feeling and makes you feel ready to grab an axe or sword and march on the
nearest battlefield. Also they have managed to impress me with some of their
melodies that I have not listened very often in a heavy metal album (and
believe me I am a metalhead many years). The band might have a barbaric image
and sound, but on the leads you can see that their skill is highly technical.
Last but not least the whole album has such an 80’s feeling that comes out very
naturally and that my friends is very impressive.
CONCLUSION: Heavy/thrash metal at its best. Not much more to say.
Go grab the album, a six pack of beers and a sword or an axe, play it loud and
let the battle commence…
Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου