Knight & Gallow are hailing from California and after releasing one single and demo this is their first full length opus. This one contains intro and eight songs. Knight & Gallow play a mixture of heavy metal done in old school style if I must compare it to some bands it would be a more nwobhm version of Cirith Ungol or little Manilla Road, but the trouble I have with these songs on the album is they sound all too similar and they just didn´t reach that my inner vibe and touched my metal heart in the way they were supposed to. Lyrically band is varied between Tolkien, vikings, crusades, gods of war and all other merry themes. There are three songs that stand out for me above rest of the material, those are Stormbringer´s Call, Blood Of Wolves and Black Swordsman with blast beat part and almost thrash power metal solo and melody. This is a decent debut, we will see what the future brings.
Wow! This is all I can say after I finished this 500+ pages monstrosity by Daniel Lake with a foreword by legendary Tom G.Warrior of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer fame. I always somehow held European black metal in higher worth and regard than American black metal scene, but now I understand how wrong I was. Leaning more into punk rock and hardcore back ground than its European counterparts, American bands and projects have managed to create their own identity and large quantity of originality not trying to sound like third grade clones of Darkthrone and Burzum, rather evolving and thus becoming hated by some black metal purists circles, but also becoming original in their diy and free spirit. This book covers it all in shape of articles and rich interviews, from old school masters Judas Iscariot, Absu, Von, across Inquisition, Deafheaven, Panopticon, Krieg, Leviathan, Xasthur and many, many others. This book is a worthy document of a scene and its worth cannot be grasped in one reading, so I am definitely going to have to read it once or twice more soon. Great book!
After their stunning and crushing debut full length opus, Kanonenfieber released this nice two song e.p. with continuation of their war melodic black death metal, thematizing the entrance of USA into WWI and all the hardships and horrors of war. I love how The Yankee Division March starts with a short sample from WWI song, I think it is Over There but I may be wrong. Then it delves into fast melodic blast beats coupled with black metal screaming vocals and growling death metal voice, breaking into slower apocalyptic atmospheric parts only to blast again like Maxim machine gun mowing the charging infantry from the trenches. Guest performance on this one belongs to Trevor Strnad known from The Black Dahlia Murder. Die Fastnacht der Holle is a bit better song in my opinion and it brings me back to poison gas attacks, stench of corpses, futile charges and offensives, snipers, mortars and death over all. Great e.p. by great band!
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