Black Hell – How The Rest Was Lost (Sounds of Battle and Souvenir Collecting)
By Jay Snyder
June 19, 2009

Dual guitar wielding, sludge cowboys Black Hell (Phoenix denizens and ex-members of Wellington, Unruh and Carol Ann) ride again but not quite in the way expected on their dazzling, 2nd LP How the Rest was Lost. Last time we checked in with these hellraisers was to the sound of six gun screaming and hoof pounding, Lizzy-scorched sludge/doom present on Deformers of the Universe, the band's apocalyptic debut which took the sludge genre in a unique, harmonic direction.

Supporters of that particular opus might be more than a tad surprised when they delve into HTRWL. First off, vocalist/guitarist Frank Davenport has replaced his heathen bellow with an effects laden croon, lending to the psychedelic atmosphere displayed by his bandmates. In addition, the twin guitar action is even more prominent and powerful, coloring in these five sprawling compositions with a beautiful shade of NWOBHM sunshine! The whole effect is that of staring down a canyon by moonlight and watching the shadows take on a life of their own.

Towering, grandiose riffs echo the doom n’ gloom of the finest Sabbath thunder during the opening moments of “Lunar Procession”; our flagship glimpse into the new found dynamics of these Black Hellions. The quicksand riffs envelope the senses, building against a steadfast rhythmic backdrop. You won’t be waiting long until drummer Josh Bodnar and bassist Mike Bjella push down on the throttle, dizzying brains with a battery of tricky fills and a monolith of highly pronounced low-end respectively. Locking us in for a runaway stage coach ride, the soaring clean vocals nip hot on the trail of hoot n’ holler solos and outlaw harmonies; giving us Western wayfarers all we bargained for in the saddle.

When the final riff comes crashing down, we fade directly into the granite carved, axe slinging of “Storms of Jupiter”. This is what The Sword wished they sounded like! The harmonies that intro this track, coupled with the intricate bass plucking stacks up a wall of shred somewhere between Maiden in execution and Sabbath in pacing. A feral stomp not far removed from High on Fire increases the octane level ever so slightly, before the quartet dip into a country-tinged, hallucinatory bliss so shimmering and glorious that it immediately grabbed me by the balls and squeezed ‘em within an inch of their lives! Fire and brimstone pour down in an inspired, mid-section showdown that eventually replaces NWOBHM fury, with a Sabbathian chord progression which schizophrenically whips into a Maiden guitar duel with a bevy of bravado, eventually bringing back the opening harmonies one last time before everything collapses into the sun-drenched ambience of “Lycanthropy” and its distant, introductory instrumentation. Caterwauling beauty dissipates into a high noon showdown of hazy doom riffs and climbing harmonies that all come into fruition at the 4 minute mark; a landmark moment where the metallic, twin licks rage heartily with the wrath of Hades, unleashing one of the album’s most gripping moments of twin guitar debauchery! How Davenport and Will Solares come up with some of this shit is beyond me, but when you hear them nail their tandem runs in the context of these labyrinth sized tunes, the experience comes full circle and you’ll realize we’ve got ourselves a brand new, deadly duo to keep a watch on in the guitar department.

Shifting gears on lengthy instrumental “Planet Maker” the white hot guitar feedback and dense, hyper distorted bass groove sound more akin to The Melvins than any of the desert heat metal we’ve heard thus far. The change of pace is welcome, continuing to flesh out other important facets of the band’s sound. Repetition is key here, but subtle layers and nuances are added in each passing second, until this beast winds down to an overpowering mix of stoner riffage, slow-motion metal and glorious psychedelic tones. Bringing things home, the bombastic Hawkwind psyche meets 70’s metal boogie of “Celestial Conquest” is the spiritual counterpart of “Planet Maker”; long, drawn out and impeccably honed with riffs, solos, rhythms, harmonies and space-outs that nod to the elder gods and create a legacy unto themselves. All of the band's varied elements fall into place in the frame of this 10 minute behemoth and none of it adds up to a single second of wasted time.

Not sure what they slipped into the water out in Phoenix, but Black Hell partook in a few gallons of the stuff and came out sounding like an entirely different animal. While the heaviness and psychedelic leanings of the album’s predecessor remain intact, there is a newfound attention to melody, atmosphere and songcraft all throughout HTRWL that renders it a very special release. Additionally it is available in a limited press, digi-pak of only 150 copies. So, collectors should keep a special eye out for it. Also worth mentioning is the lush design and layout from Mike Bjella who has this behemoth looking prim n’ pretty for all you fans of mesmerizing album art out there.

There’s not much else to say here. I know I’m an over analyst to the extreme at points, but I think BH do all the talking necessary with the words and music on this album. If you ever wondered what would happen if early High on Fire, Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, The Melvins and Iron Maiden decided to cut a record together, HTRWL could very well be the result. This is music made by well-seasoned players who are embracing their influences, stretching out the boundaries of said influences and growing as a unit, playing the tunes that make them happy. God bless ‘em for that. While diehard, strictly sludge mongers might shrug their shoulders at the lessening of aggression and heightening of compositional strength, any discerning rock n’ roller who likes their metal loud and brimming with interesting ideas would do well to add a copy of this to their archives.

Since it arrived yesterday, I’ve been listening to little else and not regretting it. I’m hopeful BH will continue to expand this new course in the future; in the meantime HTRWL is going to end up in the top of my heap at year’s end! As much as I dug Deformers of the Universe (and I dug it a lot!) this disc is simply the better of the two and anybody who gives it fair a chance may very well find that they have a new favorite band in their stables.

Visit the Sounds of Battle and Souvenir Collecting website at www.sobasc.com