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Hailing
from Denmark, Force of Evil combine the talents of Merciful Fate’s
guitarist’s Hank Shermann and Michael Denner, and drummer Bjarne Holm,
as well as King Diamond’s bassist Hal Patino, and Ironfire’s
vocalist Martin Steene. Together they have put a together an album of
unadulterated metal power.
With the twin guitars of Shermann and Denner producing some guitar
sounds that are very much in the vain of early Metallica and Judas
Priest. The opening intro ‘Dawn of Dominion’ is a haunting few
seconds then rips into the real opening track ‘Hell on Earth’ with a
scorching start to the album. The full force and fury of this band
really are unleashed with this particular track which bodes well for the
rest of the tracks on this album.
The album continues in the same hard furious style with
‘Mindbreaker’ and ‘Eye of the Storm’. The band shows its
mellower side with ‘Misery Man’ and ‘Samhaim’. Two tracks that
although set a more slower pace than the previous tracks on the album,
still retain that metal edge throughout.
‘The Calling’ heads full steam ahead into a flurry of ear piercing
guitars and heavy vocals, while ‘Fountain of Grace’ slows the pace
down again with a more deliberate delivery but still retaining that hard
edge to it.
‘Demonized’ and ‘Under the Blade’ both have that Judas Priest
feel about them. This is probably due to the use of two guitars that
give it that ‘Defenders of the Faith’ sound.
The final track and my favourite is ‘Eternity’. Again the band put
the twin guitars to good use with its tempo changes and meaningful
lyrics, it’s a great way to end the album.
The band have already performed live at a number of festivals already,
in particular a one in Stockholm, Sweden last November alongside such
doom metal pioneers as Candlemass and Trouble. Keep your eyes peeled
this Spring for the DVD release of that performance which was captured
on film.
Hank Shermann is adamant that Forces of Evil are a band and definitely
not a side project. He’s confirmed that the band have already been
writing together for the next album. Let’s hope this is the case
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