An absolute joy to listen to for any old-school Metal fan.
Well here's a title that says it all, and no one can say they weren't warned about the content of this, the debut album from Peruvian four-piece Blizzard Hunter. The rather odd moniker comes from their original name Blizzard, which obviously wasn't quite "Metal enough" and the word Hunter was bolted on (with stonking great metal bolts, natch.)
So yes... BH are a Metal band, but there are so many different types of Metal and I was part dreading pressing play as many of these types are shit. It was therefore quite a relief when after the slow intro to 'Conqueror Of Destiny' (oh yes, we have over dramatic song titles by the bucket-load here) the band stepped on the gas pedal and whisked me back to the early eighties when Metal was Metal and men were hairy.
BH mix up early Iron Maiden, Helloween and even Queensryche to great effect, chucking out fast and melodic songs with some excellent vocal gymnastics from Sebastian Palma, who has a very Bruce Dickinson-like scream that is used to great effect. There's two guitarists as well, but it's not clear if they both play lead or only one; suffice to say whoever does it really lays down some cracking solos, with some done in a twin fashion that never gets old (for me, anyway).
The thing with retro Metal is it can often be quite dull, but Blizzard Hunter definitely have that elusive spark that makes 'Heavy Metal To The Vein' an absolute joy to listen to for any old-school Metal fan. Much like Striker from issue #65, this is music that is timeless when done with passion and talent and there's certainly no shortage of either here.
Alan Holloway
Subscribe to this comment's feed
