Introduction
“Death Upon the Holy Throne” – now that sets a precedent, doesn’t it? The debut album by Polish black metal band, Towards Hellfire, was released on February 2nd, 2023. I must admit that I wasn’t familiar with the band or its members, who play in a few other bands as well. However, after the album premiered on YouTube and two members of our Discord community recommended it, I decided to give it a listen.
The Album
Towards Hellfire’s debut album contains eight tracks with a runtime of almost 40 minutes:
- Nocturnal Rites
- Hammer for Betrayal
- Obsessed by Hate
- Follow the Path of Chaos
- Death upon the Holy Throne
- The Gospel of the Violence
- Transfiguration
- The Oath of the Ancient Gods
The album’s runtime flies by quickly, which is a bonus in my eyes because I have a very short attention span (so it has nothing to do with the quality of the album itself). As soon as the album starts, the blast beats begin and rarely slow down. This is precisely how I like my drums to sound on a black metal album – relentless and unyielding. The vocals are alright for me personally; they could be harsher and colder, but they fit the album, so that’s okay.
One thing I’m missing are the lyrics. I couldn’t find them on Bandcamp or on Metal Archives. This is a shame because I like to read them to gain an understanding of what’s going on. The good news is that you can understand the lyrics with the type of vocal being used, but that’s not always the case.
The album’s artwork is outstanding and draws your attention. I would love to see if the lyrics match the artwork. Perhaps the band will add them later on, or fans of the album will transcribe them.
Some highlights
“Death upon the Holy Throne” is the fifth track on the album and one of my highlights. This track has it all for me – nice guitar riffs, drums that sound like machine guns, and some slower parts. It’s the complete package, and if you need to listen to one song to get an idea of what this band is all about, you should give this a spin.
Another highlight of the album for me is “Transfiguration.” This song is the shortest one on the album, clocking in at 3:38, but like I said at the beginning, that suits me since I have the attention span of an amoeba. This song is compact and, like the fifth track, has almost everything – good drums, nice guitar riffs, and a fast pace.
And as said before, other highlights on the album are the drums, those are superb and an other highlight of the album.
Conclusion
For fans of fast-paced black metal, this is a must-try, for others, you can give it a try and perhaps it for you, or perhaps it’s not, but that’s the beauty of black metal, there is so much to choose from. There is something for everyone.
If you do like the album, don’t hesitate to buy the album on Bandcamp and support the artist.
Links
Bandcamp: Death Upon The Holy Throne | TOWARDS HELLFIRE (bandcamp.com)
Facebook: Towards Hellfire | Facebook
Putrid Cult (Label: Sklep internetowy (putridcult.pl)