Hooded Menace - Never Cross The Dead

Hooded Menace caught my attention with their 2008 debut, Fulfill the Curse. It was a refreshingly brutal take on the death/doom genre, and left me hoping that that project wouldn’t become lost among the many other death metal related bands that Lasse Pyykko is currently involved with. If his other projects were a distraction you wouldn’t know it by listening to Never Cross The Dead.

Never Cross The Dead is fundamentally the same style that we saw on Fulfill the Curse, but everything is fleshed out a little more. The album just sounds huge, with big pile-driving doom riffs dominating the sound, while somber melodic guitar work adds another layer to the album. Hooded Menace primarily stick to the slower tempos of traditional doom metal, but occasionally wander into more mid paced territory. The pummeling mid section in “Rituals of Mortal Cremation” provides a great example of this, offering a simple but effective jolt of energy that really adds a lot of life to the song. “The House of Hammer” shows off Hooded Menace’s more refined side, opening with a drawn out melodic section, and trading that off with a more assertive, but still tuneful groove for the balance of the song.

As a whole, Never Cross the Dead is a very melodic album, but in a deceptive way. The beefy guitar tone and neolithic death vocals that form the foundation of the band’s sound simply won’t allow the melodic elements to overpower them. This sort of struggle between brutish aggression and tasteful melody is Hooded Menace’s greatest strength. The contrast in the guitar work actually fills the role that a lot of death/doom bands fill with more varied vocals. In this case, the vocals become more like another instrument, almost working as part of the rhythm section, while the lead guitar provides the melodic hooks. What you end up with is an album created from metal’s most basic elements, but also one of surprising complexity. Things that might seem ordinary in another context are used in just the right way to make the final product something special.

Hooded Menace are a band that will appeal to fans of the very early albums by Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. This genre was basically born as super slow and ultra heavy death metal, but most of the early pioneers moved beyond the basics very early in their careers. Never Cross the Dead provides a look back to the dawn of the death/doom genre, and serves as a welcome reminder that in music less is actually more sometimes.  This back-to-basics approach, coupled with the top notch song writing that is on display here makes Never Cross the Dead an extremely satisfying album, and one of 2010’s true stand out releases.    

It is worth noting that Never Cross the Dead was recorded as a two piece with Pyykko handling everything but the drums. Since its release, Hooded Menace have expanded to a full line up, adding a full time vocalist, bass player and a new drummer. This could be a sign of things becoming more serious in the Hooded Menace camp, or at the very least that they intend to do more touring. Either way, it will be interesting to see what this influx of new blood does for the band, particularly in the vocal department.  

Release Date: March 26, 2010
Label: Profound Lore Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Never Cross the Dead
2.  Terror Castle
3.  Night of the Deathcult
4.  The House of Hammer
5.  Rituals of Mortal Cremation
6.  As the Creatures Ascend
7.  From Their Confined Slumber
8.  Theme From Return of the Evil
     Dead

Total playing time:  51:23

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Garett

March 5, 2011