Damnation's Hammer

Into The Silent Nebula is the third album by Damnation's Hammer, it’s eight songs of relentless heavy metal that incorporate the band’s doom laden groove complete with some extremely well-renowned guest contributions, more on that later! Once again the band have utilized Mark Mynett to produce this opus which builds on the foundations set by the previous album, Unseen Planets, Deadly Spheres. The opening salvo of Sutter Cane and Do Not Disturb The Watchmaker are a riff laden feast, the former almost chaotic in feel and featuring a brief spoken word part by Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride! Then Do Not Disturb The Watchmaker kicks in with it’s serpentine groove before descending into a thrashing chorus. It’s all sterling stuff that will satiate the needs of those craving the most heavy of metals! The album retains the huge riffs that Damnation’s Hammer is known for however Into The Silent Nebula is more adventurous than it’s predecessor, for example the companion to the title track – simply titled The Silent Nebula - is an atmospheric, bluesy instrumental performed for the most part on clean guitars, however it still retains an ominous and almost spacious feeling like one really is lost and drifting in the cosmos. The track is complete with a laid back guitar solo before closing on a melodic bassline whilst Sakis from Rotting Christ quotes lyrics from the album’s title track. Elsewhere on the album, The Hex IV is a soundscape utilizing the organic sounds of our solar system merged together to create a bleak, haunting interlude. All very intriguing. The centrepiece of the album however is Outpost 31, an epic 8 minute track based on the classic 1982 horror film The Thing. Fenriz from Darkthrone ‘stars’ as the Norwegian helicopter pilot! The song opens with an atmospheric clean section complete with the Norwegian’s frantic warning before a tense, driving riff kicks in. The song is bridged by another fantastic guitar solo that builds to a crescendo before the band kick back in with the main riff. Outpost 31 moves and pulses, constantly changing yet at all times remaining familiar to the listener, a technique which highlights Damnation’s Hammer’s skill at song writing. With Into The Silent Nebula Damnation’s Hammer have crafted an extremely memorable album, the tracks are riff driven and perfectly structured to keep the listener hooked and immersed in the compositions. The band are able to shift from chunky, doom laden thrash to clean sections that give an almost progressive flare to the music. They’re not thrash and they’re not doom, they fall somewhere in between as they don’t adhere to any particular style which makes the band even more captivating. They may not be reinventing the wheel, however the compositions are well written making for hugely enjoyable songs, which at the end of the day is what it’s all about. Damnation’s Hammer are one of, if not the most important band emerging from the UK metal scene.