Storming from São Paulo, Brazil, LOUDER THAN HELL present their 2nd full length “Possessed by Steel” from Nomade Records!
LOUDER THAN HELL were unknown to me until now, and once I saw the name of the band I was hopeful that this was an homage to MANOWAR, a band that are are so polarising you ever despise them or worship them with every fibre of you’re being (I am the latter). There is no middle ground! This comparison translates to LOUDER THAN HELL‘s music, which is unashamedly and proudly metal.
Upon first impressions, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is what MANOWAR would sound like if Tom Angelripper of SODOM was fronting the band. The lyrical content swerves from the flag waving celebration of Heavy Metal, to fantastical imaginations of demons and battles and endless death.
The production on this album nicely done, and the guitars are saturated with enough chorus to give the tone a nice sound without compromising the heavy feel throughout. The nasty vocals suit the almost death / thrash barrage that rumbles on. I do have a huge criticism though – the drums are programmed and it really shows. It’s hard not to tune into the relentless monotone snare or kick and this detracts from the cool riffs over the top. In my opinion there is no excuse for this, just hire a session drummer or find someone; programmed drums have little to no place on a heavy metal album, especially when the content of the lyrics glorifies the power of metal. The patterns and fills themselves are decent and functional enough, but knowing its essentially software ruins the intentions of the band.
All the tracks on the album are very formulaic and do not deter away from the typical heavy metal structure but for me this is not a negative comment. I love good old meat and potatoes metal and this is served in spades with plenty of gravy! There’s some standout solos and very catchy riffs littered throughout.
The bass is just about present, you can hear it when the guitars are playing in the higher pitches and outside of this it’s almost a gentle rumble.
The riffing showcases a good mix of mid paced headbangable moments as well as frantic speed metal attacks, and dotted throughout are some melo-death like riffs. At the heart of all the riffs is a clear melody, and during the solo sections it steps into power metal territory.
Conclusion
“Possessed by Steel” does not break any boundaries or change the soundscape of contemporary metal, but this is not the point. The overall experience of listening to the album in a solo setting doesn’t invoke much thrill, but cranking this in a field with a bunch of mates and beers is where it will excel and bring a fresh take, and watching it live will only improve on that.
THENWOTHM Score: 6/10
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/5n78ckp8
The Nwothm 
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