Heads For The Dead // The Great Conjuration // Album Review

9

Horror-fixated death metal supergroup Heads For The Dead are back with their third full length full of sickening riffs & glorious gore for the ears!

Featuring Ralf Hauber (Revel In Flesh) on Vocals

Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath) – Guitar / Bass / Keyboards and FX,Matt Moliti (Sentient Horror) – Guitar solos & Jon Rudin (Wombbath) – Drums. Heads For The Dead is filled with the elite of death metal & now on their third full length they have been able to evolve as a band.

Where most bands create a sound & either stick with that sound or jump far from their roots, Heads For The Dead are a rare case in the death metal spectrum.

The band’s debut release “Serpent’s Curse” from 2018 saw the band carve their sound, a dark Swedish death metal that was punishing & furious. The 2020s “Into the Red” was the next step in the progression. Still keeping the dark & buzzsaw tone of the band’s identity, experimental elements were perfectly blended into the band’s repertoire.

The opener “The Jewel of the Seven Stars” shows you already from the first few bars the band is giving it 110% & also trying to push the sound forward. A thick & rich guitar tone yet again from Jonny Pettersson on this track & whole album.

Ralf Hauber’s vocal range on this album yet again reminds me why he is one of my favourite German vocalists. The range on this album he creates is shocking. Some of the deepest growling to date from himself & his midtone is an imaginative way to give the album layers.

The titan that is “The Covenant” opens with one of the dirtiest riffs of the year. Pure 90’s worship & dripping with filth.

The best “trait” about Heads For The Dead is they are always pushing tempo changes. Which is such a great move to make.

Keeping each song like “The Covenant” a peak & valley affair. Never taking the foot of the gas but still giving you that breather you need while still keeping the intense at full wack.

The track “The Bloodline” would fit perfectly within a Fulci film.

A haunting deep bass synth with a slow but tight drum beat makes this track a beast. With ear piercing screeches & slight hints of fx from Pettersson make this track the heaviest but also creepiest track on the album. This band isn’t just using horror as an inspiration, they are using it to create some scary as shit heavy music which is a bonus in my eyes!

The culmination of all the band’s elements flourish in the stonker of a track “World Serpent Dominion”.

The standout track on the album. Just under seven minute this track is an epic journey into the depth of death metal. With changing grooves & tempos this track has it all.

Top notch solo work from Matt Moliti & the beast of a drum performance from Jon Rudin. It might not be his most technical performance on the album but for me Jon makes the track solid & firm, the backbone Heads For The Dead needs!

“The Great Conjuration” is far the best & most complete Heads For The Dead album. Three albums in & they are able to create some of the best music & most filthy tracks in the band’s discography to date. A band & album that every 90’s death metal fan needs to spin right now!

Joseph Mitchell

The Great Conjuration is out vua Transcending Obscurity Records on 2th September 2022

Line up –
Ralf Hauber (Revel In Flesh) – Vocals / Lyrics and Concept
Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath) – Guitar / Bass / Keyboards and FX
Matt Moliti (Sentient Horror) – Guitar solos
Jon Rudin (Wombbath) – Drums

Cover photo artist Cory DeAn Cowley
Illustrational work and layout by The art of Badic Art

Track listing –
1. The Jewel of the Seven Stars 
2. The Beast
3. The Covenant
4. Rotten Bastard
5. The Breaking Wheel
6. The Bloodline
7. World Serpent Dominion
8. The Curse
9. Bloody Hammer
10. The Fog

Official Video Stream #1
Official Video Stream #2

Heads For The Dead Bandcamp

Official Transcending Obscurity Site

Transcending Obscurity Facebook

Heads For The Dead Facebook

Official Label YouTube Channel

Label US Store

Label Europe Store

9