Band: Hail of Bullets Album: ...Of Frost and War Label: Metal Blade Rating: 9/10 Website: http://www.hailofbullets.com BUY NOW

Well well, if this isn't a fine group of seasoned veterans then I don't know what is. Consisting of members of such colossal acts as Pestilence, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Houwitser, Thanatos and Gorefest, it's pretty much safe to say that death metal is on the cards here. Hail of Bullets is Martin Van Drunen (vocals), Paul Baayens and Stephan Gebedi (guitars), Theo Van Eekelen (bass) and last but by no means least Ed Warby (drums), and …Of Frost and War is their first, and hopefully not the last time we'll be hearing from them. Opening with a monstrous and atmospheric classical instrumental, this sets the tone for what is easily one of the best death metal albums I've heard for a while. None of this over complicated, technical wizardry or hyper fast blast beats, just classic and relentless old school death metal in the vein of such acts as Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Grave and Dismember. Of course, the members also bring obvious references to their current and former bands. With tracks such as "The Lake Ladoga Massacre", "Red Wolves of Stalin", "The Crucial Offensive (19-11-1942)" and "Stalingrad", there is an obvious yet fantastic concept running through the album. Hail of Bullets give us their take on "Operation Barbarossa", "The Great Patriotic War" and the Nazi German invasion of the Soviet Union during Word War II, which provides the ultimate soundtrack for when you have to look some of the events up on Wikipedia. With this, it's all about the riffs. Like I've said, nothing overly complex, but the down-tuned, almost groovy feel to the album is very effective. As the album progresses, things get a little more melodic, with leads and even a few dual harmonies which symbolize the invasion/war/battles are coming to an end with a realization of the final outcome. Vocal wise, Martin Van Drunen's more unusual raspy and higher pitch fits this well. In regards to the war theme, he brings a sort of painful and emotional feel to things, which is something I thought I'd never hear myself say when talking about death metal. Despite it's length, "…Of Frost and War" never for one moment gets dull. I simply cannot recommend this highly enough, don't miss out! Chris Rogers Back to Reviews