BLACK HAWK
'Straight To Hell'
(Karthago)
Apparently, there's another, hard rock, band operating under the same moniker, but what we've got here is the German Hawk. And Germans they prove to be, playing typical heavy metal, as dictated by the best traditions of Accept, Helloween, X-Wild and Saxon (a great cover version of 'Crusader' on this album!). It's probably interesting to note that the band started out in the early '80's, disbanded in the '90's and re-united again in 2005, which also marks the year of their debut full-length. 'Straight To Hell' is their fourth altogether, and possibly the best. Following a brief intro, the powerful 'Isolation' kicks off and the Germans bring to the plate not only speed but also a good deal of melody. 'Shoot Shoot', along with 'Bad Pussy' showcase the entertaining rock'n'roll face of the band, 'Seven Years Of Pain' is a gorgeous ballad, while the title song and the instrumental 'Crystal Shark Pt.1' being the opposite – lethal and speedy numbers. Overall, the album is a really catchy one, with choruses and melodies that are easily memorable, and the production, courtesy of none else than Dirk Schlachter (Gamma Ray), is seriously perfect. 'Guardians Of The Night' is my top favorite track off the bunch and this album is well worth adding to anyone's collection of German Metal. [8]
(Asen Asenov)
No comments:
Post a Comment