BLACK SOUL HORDE – Land Of Demise

Greek Metalists Black Soul Horde return with their second full length album Land Of Demise, seven years after their debut Tales Of The Ancient Ones. The band has parted ways with former label No Remorse Records; Land Of Demise is the band’s first self-released album. The eight song collection promises a return to Classic Metal grandeur, sporting fantastical and martial titles like “Lord Of All Darkness” and “Troops Of the Damned” Opener “Stone Giants” establishes the NWOBHM tone nicely, with an Angel Witch-y opening guitar riff and speedy double-bass kick. Singer and lyricist Jim Kotsis adds to this Metal Classicism of the overall sound with his clean, clear, and slightly high vocal styling.

Follow-up “Into The Badlands” is an even better track, starting with a headlong musical charge, a neat sonic trick that implies the forward motion and journey implied by the songs’ title. Kotsis lends some high notes and harmony vocals to a song whose layered production belies the albums’ self released status.

Like the best of the NWOBHM albums, Black Soul Horde avoids monotony with varied song structures. “A Neverending Journey” slows the pace down slightly, but has Kotsis singing high above the mix and includes some innovative syncopation in the initially restrained backbeat of the song. The drummer on the album, Vasilis Nanos, is not listed as a full member of the band. Signing him to a permanent position needs to be a priority for , as his playing effectively drives the action, meshing well with John Tsiakopoulos’s fretwork on both bass and guitar. Tsiaopoulos wrote all of the music and handled the production as well.

“Soulships” adds some Doom overtones, as Kotsis drops the clean vocals for more menacing tones. The following track “The Frail And The Weak” is anything but, having one of the better solos and an extended instrumental section late in the song. Costas Papaspyrou provides the solos, and he cuts some scorchers on Land Of Demise.

Land Of Demise is a solid album overall, a fine inclusion among the growing ranks of Classic Heavy Metal revivalists. The comparisons to the early Eighties juggernauts are fair, but Black Soul Horde is more properly gauged among contemporaries Night Demon, Sonic Prophecy, Eternal Champion, and Last Pharaoh, all of whom are working similar veins of rich iron ore.