CLOVEN HOOF · Heathen Cross (Re-Release) | BLACK LP

Black vinyl, insert, download code, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, revised back cover. Limited to 150 copies.

Background information about 'Heathen Cross (Re-Release)'

Heathen Cross is the sound of a band marching back through the gates it helped build. Cloven Hoof have always been one of the great unsung pillars of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, and here they return to High Roller Records with a record that digs straight down into the black soil of their 1984 debut. Lee Payne and company promised the Satanic undertones of the early days, and they deliver: "Do What Thou Wilt", "Sabbat Stones" and "The Summoning" stalk forward on ironclad riffs, twin-guitar harmonies and a rhythm section that never lets the pressure drop. There is real weight here, the kind of heavy that comes from decades of knowing exactly what a song needs and refusing to pad it out.

The headline, though, is the voice. Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin steps behind the microphone and simply owns every track, shifting from a venomous snarl to a soaring, theatrical cry without ever losing the plot. He sounds like a storyteller who has lived inside these lyrics for years, and Payne's material has rarely been served this well. Luke Hatton and Chris Coss trade leads with genuine fire, Ash Baker drives it all forward, and Chris Dando's keyboards add an ominous shimmer that keeps the whole thing feeling ritualistic rather than retro. It is dark, it is loud, and it is unmistakably Cloven Hoof.

For fans of: Satan, Angel Witch, Tokyo Blade, Grim Reaper, Iron Maiden

Track listing

A1. Benediction
A2. Redeemer
A3. Do What Thou Wilt
A4. Last Man Standing
A5. Darkest Before the Dawn
A6. Vendetta
B1. Curse of the Gypsy
B2. Frost and Fire
B3. Sabbat Stones
B4. The Summoning

Manufacturer: High Roller Records, Bertolt-Brecht-Str. 1a, 08412 Werdau, Germany, Contact: www.hrrecords.de