The cards are laid before us – The Tower, Three Of Swords, Five Of Pentacles, Ten Of Swords, Death and The Devil – each one presaging disaster, a final black chapter in our bloody story. Our ending is written in the stars, inescapable and now there is only a choice of pathways to our ultimate destruction. Greed, lust and ignorance, cowardice, cruelty and selfishness – they have all played their parts in our blinkered march to the grave. Now it just remains to select the manner of our dying; to step from our bleak, black present to a choice of darker fates.
Manchester’s Hellbearer leapt into the frontline trenches of thrash metal in 2022 and haven’t paused for breath since. They quickly released their fiery debut album, For Those About To Bear Hell and since then have shared the stage with the likes of 3 Inches Of Blood and the legendary Abaddon of Venom. They delivered a ferocious set at Thrashchester 2023 and went on to give a memorable performance at Bloodstock, inciting record crowd surfing numbers with their adrenalin infused riff attack. Now attention turns to their second album, Darker Fates, which sees the band striding effortlessly into the vanguard of UK thrash.
Scene setting intro, ‘Pull The Card’ leads directly into the classic thrash of ‘The Witch’, with its circling riffs and powerful vocals adorned with searing, exhilarating lead work. The Hellbearer sound is rooted in the ‘80s thrash explosion, but each song is delivered with a venomous fury and a vital, vibrant enthusiasm which makes it more than just relevant – rather an essential new blood infusion for the genre. From the gritty, grinding riffs and menacing, pit inducing aggression of ‘Absolution’ to the hard hitting, foreboding darkness of ‘The Mantra’; the measured, methodical annihilation of new single ‘Counting Seconds’ with its slow burning riff and twisted solo, to the jagged and dangerous ‘Through An Orphan’s Eyes’ – musically, Darker Fates is a powerful addition to the atomic arsenal of thrash metal. Lyrically the band have raised the bar too, striving to match the ambitious, creative nature of their new music with tales of dystopian futures and reflections on our fractured times. Incisive, powerful and metal to the bone, Hellbearer have surpassed all expectations with their latest creation.
With a sound so raw and real it could draw blood, Darker Fates will be unleashed on October 17th. This is British thrash, armed to the teeth, harder and heavier than ever!
Line-up:
Ash Allen – Vocals/Rhythm Guitar
Sam Hatt – Drums
Matthew Robinson – Lead Guitar
Kieran Brooks – Bass
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Exodus | Testament | Machine Head | Forbidden
Further Information:
https://www.facebook.com/hellbearerthrash
https://www.instagram.com/hellbearerofficial
https://linktr.ee/hellbearer
