[avatar =”Mosh” size=”50″ align=”left” /]If ever a name conjured up images of the aftermath of a gunfight in a sand-swept Wild West town, this is it. Hellbent & Hammered, however, hail from that well known cowboy ranch… London. Despite the British origins, their sound is a very dirty Deep South American one, laden with Pantera-esque groove.
The band have been around for a decade and I think have one or two other releases under their belt, but Death Rattle is the only one I can spot listed anywhere as available. The release date I have is December 15th, though it already seems to be purchase-able in their online store.
Three quid (plus postage) gets you a CD containing four crushing tracks of the heaviest metal. Seriously, this is good stuff. Each track is headbanging, circle-pitting heaven.
I’m not even going to go through the tracks and tell you what each one’s like. Just trust me when I tell you that if you’re into the likes of Lamb of God, Pantera and their ilk then you will not be disappointed with Hellbent & Hammered. While definitely nodding their Camden-market-purchased cowboy hat in the direction of these established acts, they very much have their own take on the genre and could hold their own against them.
With just the handful of tracks, there’s no room for a weak song and none is present. I can’t pick a single stand-out track (as I usually would) as they’re all equally impressive. Honestly, for the cost of a pint you’ll get a much sorer head for your cash by the time you’ve finished slamming around to these beauties.
