Gallhammer - Ill Innocence

Published March 16 2008

*=Staff's pick	At The Onset Of The Age Of Despair* Speed Of Blood Blind My Eyes* Delirium Daydream Ripper In The Gloom Killed By The Queen Song Of Fall World To Be Ashes SLOG* Long Scary Dream

Genre	Black/Doom Metal	Vivian S./Mika P.	Vocals
Tracks	10	Mika Penetrator	Guitar
Runningtime	51 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Peaceville Records	Vivian Slaughter	Bass
Release	17 March 2008	Risa Reaper	Drums
Country	Japan	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	---

This extremely hyped black metal band does not only come from Japan - they're also a trio of girls! But to write Gallhammer off on these reasons alone would be unfair, because when it comes to the music they definitely have an expression of their own. One example is the lead vocalist Vivian Slaughter, who sounds like she could bite your head off if you messed with her, a style which fits the songs perfectly. She has a raspy and rather scary voice, not far from Angela Gossow's (from Arch Enemy). The vocals still have a feminine touch to them throughout the album, though.

The opening track At The Onset Of The Age Of Despair shows the doom and drone-side of Gallhammer. The piece goes on for almost nine minutes but never becomes boring, thanks to the mix of simple yet hypnotizing bass guitar melodies, Vivian Slaughter's gloomy vocals and a generally slow pace. Most people would surely think this sounds downright awful, but I find it rather pretty. It's definitely the song on the album I keep returning to, along with the rather similar SLOG, which in its structure actually reminds of some of the longer tracks by goth-gods The Cure.

The rest of Ill Innocence is a mixed affair, mostly since the shorter pieces doesn't quite convince entirely. There are things that work; Blind My Eyes has a catchy riff (in fact the only thing that is catchy on this album) and a nice chorus. On the minus account are the few attempts at singing clean, which don't work well at all. I also hope that Gallhammer hire a producer that can sharpen their sound for the next album, since Ill Innocence has a bit of a demo-sound to it.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
6	7	4	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Niklas