Ukraine’s Hell:on aren’t beginners in the contemporary death metal genre – their new album, “Shaman”, is their seventh one and judging by this new release, the band runs a peak period. Yes, “Shaman” is a great death metal album – but, hey, that’s not just death metal. And I am telling that not only because you can hear the black metal influences, but also because they have a lot of oriental and tribal elements! Yes, you are reading right! The songs’ main body is death metal and black metal, and this body is ornamented with oriental and tribal sounds! The band from Zaporizhia uses oriental instruments, tribal percussions and throat singing and makes the final result very mysterious and evocative. Well, you can’t say that Hell:on is a progressive band, however, they are a brave band, which doesn’t hesitate to explore, to experiment, to take a risk! “Shaman” is a very interesting album, which will give you some excellent and elegant death metal moments, which wait to be discovered. Give this record some time and soon you will be enchanted by this fresh and elegant extreme metal opus. Hell:on are here with a new album, which will win them many new fans – I am sure that the older fans of the band will be super-satisfied! We happily welcome this new disc and know that “Shaman” will be playing on our speakers for long. The Ukrainians managed to pique again our interest and give us something that really deserves our attention! Prepare for the shaman’s ritual!
♦ 8/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
