Höllentor – Divergency
Höllentor – Divergency
Self-released
Release Date: 17/02/23
Running Time: 33:00
Review by Rory Bentley
7/10
Another week, another wildcard release. Simon Black has quickly realised that he can assign releases to us lowly Metal scribes out of pure spite, pairing us with records that we’re likely to detest and give a needlessly vicious review to. Mainly myself and Dark Juan as we both have a proclivity to take things too far. Thus I found myself with something Power Metal adjacent in my inbox, fuse lit and ready to explode and piss off more of the Metal community. Luckily for me this ruse has backfired as this is actually a decent little release!
With a few notable exceptions this Trad/Power Metal style is never going to be my vibe. I’m a skinhead kid from the midlands who likes his Metal with a large dose of Hardcore, but I can appreciate a well-crafted, lean record like this. In fact I’ve actually just bumped up the original score as I’m writing this with the album in the background for one last listen!
The 33 minute runtime was a sight for sore eyes before I’d even pushed play – “At least it’ll be over quickly,” I thought somewhat melodramatically, but the fact that everything here ranges from solid to occasionally excellent had me doing cartwheels. I mean not really, I’m too fat for cartwheels but you get the idea!
‘Behind The Wall’ kicks things off in solid fashion, wasting no time with ornate intros and slapping you round the noggin with a big slab of beefy riffage. The raspier vocal style was a welcome relief as well, possessing just the right balance of dramatic gravitas and down to earth grit. This bulkier approach continues in the title track which has a strong chorus and a satisfying mid paced chug.
Even more encouragingly the album actually gets better as it ticks along. ‘Lotus Eater’ stomps on your face like the best moments of that other American Power Metal band we don’t talk about anymore, maintaining a level of momentum that ensures nothing feels plodding. ‘Seize The Day’ is rousing blue collar Trad Metal that fans of Visigoth would raise a beer to and ‘Vikings Pride’ is pure silly fun.
By the time the stirring ‘We Are Chosen’ has reached its climax in a flurry of ear splitting shrieks from ex-Priest man Tim ‘Ripper’ Iwens and roaring feedback, I’m left very satisfied with a thoroughly entertaining listen that doesn’t overstay its welcome. You could do a lot worse than this for your Denim and Leather fix and it comes with the added bonus that Simon’s cruel little trick didn’t work. Result!
‘Divergency’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Behind The Wall
02. Divergency
03. Find The Light
04. Judgement Day
05. Kraken Awakens
06. Lotus Eater
07. Seize The Day
08. Vikings Pride
09. We Are Chosen
LINE-UP:
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LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.