CLOVEN HOOF · The Opening Ritüal | BLACK LP

Black vinyl, insert, A2 poster, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. Limited to 500 copies.

Background information about 'The Opening Ritüal'

The Opening Ritüal is where Cloven Hoof plant their flag in the blood-soaked soil of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and it still hits like a hammer to the skull. Originally a self-released demo from the early eighties, this is the sound of a band figuring out exactly how loud they could be before the tape machine gave up. The riffs are lean, mean and built for the back of a sweaty pub, but there is real craft hiding under all that grit — twin-guitar harmonies that soar, a rhythm section that refuses to sit still, and a vocalist who sounds like he has been gargling gravel and loving every second of it.

What makes this record so compelling is its hunger. Nothing here feels calculated; every chorus, every galloping riff, every ragged scream comes from a band that genuinely believed heavy metal was the only thing worth living for. The remastering job by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony drags these recordings into the present without sanding off the edges, so the raw, leather-and-studded energy of the original sessions survives intact. It is a snapshot of a moment when British steel was being forged in rehearsal rooms and cheap studios, and Cloven Hoof were swinging hard.

For fans of: Angel Witch, Satan, Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang, Blitzkrieg

Track listing

A1. Gates Of Gehenna
A2. Stormrider
A3. Back In The USA
A4. Starship Sentinel
B1. That's The Way It Goes
B2. Return Of The Passover
B3. Road Of Eagles
B4. A Piece Of The Action

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