Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom – Summoning the Gatekeepers (2023) / 85%

 

English Breakfast Chapter 4: Blood Pudding

On their first full length album in more than a decade, the criminally unknown English duo are back with an unrivalled passion for underground metal. Their super good 2020 extended play signalled that the boys were done with what seemed to be some sort of hiatus and this was good news. This band is like this classic English ale that’s kept secret and only exists because their creators love their craft so much. Nothing else matters.

Each of their albums are quite different from each other, from the stoner doom influences of their debut to the more pastoral black metal sound of Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods, they’ve been releasing interesting stuff since the start. Summoning the Gatekeepers is no exception. In fact, I see it as a culmination of their influences or at the very least, it was a logical step for them to take. It's a stroll in the forest and never a walk in the park with them.

What we have here is a condensed, tight and upfront epic black metal album. It might be the album where they’re the best at mixing the many elements composing their English breakfast. Sure, there’s still some hints of crust, some hints of English doom but like in a good homemade bread, you will not think it’s too salty even if there’s the right amount of salt in the recipe. Their formula works because the recipe has been tested and edited many times.

From the acoustic guitars of the evocative “Twisted Tree”, the longest track of the record to the crackling of fire and the storm ambiance, there’s some English epicness in their sound but it's never too much or cheesy, it's kept minimal. They’re also able to season their late Darkthrone black metal with post punk (see the middle section of “Ragged Brothers”) but for the most part, it’s a pretty even affair. It’s a relatively midpaced record and there’s not a lot of tempo variations, at least not super jarring ones that made me scream “damn they sped things up!”. It’s made up of slow, heavy riffs with a nice back end like the lovely crusty bass of “Ashes” for example. it’s meat and potatoes metal but with some good butter and herbs, a recipe you can find in medieval cookbooks luckily preserved in the untouched cellar of an English pub.

The raspy vocals, the way the guitar parts are written and the honest, highly rustic lyrical hemes are all things speaking to me. It’s a record worth your time if you value the simplest things in life and prefer your beer without anything fancy in it.

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English Breakfast: An overview of Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom

 

Here's an overview of Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom's full length discography. This English duo deserves more attention, I've discovered them due to their 2020 extended play Kingdom of Killers to realise that their previous releases were also very interesting!

Droner (2003)

English Breakfast Chapter 1: The Eggs

The debut album of the duo built the foundations of what’s to come. They embody what I like in my metal as newly thirty year old man and I’ll explain why. It’s primitive and made in a vacuum by true connoisseurs of the underground who really don’t care about trends and fashion in the metal world.

Droner could be described as a mix of of doom, first wave black metal, heavy metal and while the crust elements aren’t as present as on other albums, it’s there. Think of Amebix combined with Cathedral and Venom. That’s a pretty fucking good English breakfast, lads. Their riffs are loud, primal but precise in their sloppiness. It’s like being stabbed by a pointy rusty dagger and left to bleed in a cold forest while the wolves gather around you. The vocals are rough and while somewhat in the background, they’re not an afterthought and they can be varied too. “Droner in the Fog” has clean vocals giving a quasi post punk feel mixed with epic metal when combined with the tasty guitars. It’s not epic like Virgin Steele talking about Greek or Roman mythology, it’s instead done in a pure English manner, it’s just men dying in the woods while their wives are cooking a stew they’ll never be able to eat.

Those dudes are good musicians too, the drumming on “Whispers of God” is creative and tight and the clean guitars almost bring a progressive folk tinge to their metal. There’s a few stoner elements too, especially in the bass playing and in a few particular songs such as “Hillfort Ghoul”, that’s possibly due to the omnipotence of Electric Wizard and Cathedral in England but regardless, it fits. Their hometown of Birmingham is also the birthplace of doom metal so being from Black Sabbath’s home turf must have some sort of mystical influence.

Throughout the short album, Acwealde and Wartooth were really capable to explore different tempos from fast, mid-paced to even slow. That’s a strong debut with all the elements of their identity already in place even if it’s the only one to feature some stoner metal parts.

Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods (2006)

English Breakfast Chapter 2: The Sausages

Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods (best album title of all time?) is the second album of our duo of merry gentlemen carousing through England under the name Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom and it’s a doozy. Compared to their debut (that I really liked), it’s more focused and clearer in its intents. There’s a beefier Celtic feel here and while it’s not exactly folk metal and it’s relatively subtle in its approach, it’s there. It’s irrevocably English in its nature, mixing the rawest and undisciplined side of NWOBHM with proto extreme metal to great effect. Think Motorhead slapping Skyclad because they’re nerds but still integrating a few hints of their sound.

Released the same year as Darkthrone’s The Cult is Alive, Bretwaldas are definitely contemporaries of the blackened punkier side of the much more famous duo but they’re so much more than that. They just happen to share a liking to old school crust punk. It reminds me of Toronto’s Demontage in the way they're primal, lo-fi metal with a lot of heart, inventiveness and authenticity. While the production values here are better, we’re still far from the saccharine and overproduced sound of big labels and I’m totally fine with that. It suits their meat pie sound very well.

They're like if The Meads of Asphodel were actually too busy drinking in pubs to go to partake in weird Medieval reenactment. They dream of the past while drunk at the bar before using the ale soaked broom as a bastard sword. They might get lost in the nearby forest afterwards or at least, that’s what I imagine drunk Englishmen do for fun. They eat fish and chips, drink beer, talk about olde kings and smoke cigarettes.

Those dudes aren’t parodies and they’re smarter than you may immediately think. Songs like “Paths of River, Root and Stone” conjures intricate but blue collar guitar leads while closer “Blood of Gods and Men” could easily be something from Bathory’s epic Viking metal albums. This track and the eight minute “Beneath the Eaves” are basically blackened epic doom and it’s fantastic.

The varied influences they were able to gather makes this album an intense and rewarding affair for experimented metal fans. They’re more interesting and rich that you’d think and they make Midnight sound like an amateurish one trick pony with only one or two ideas.

Seven Bloody Remparts (2010)

English Breakfast Chapter 3: The Beans

Seven Bloodied Remparts, the third (and last one for now) full length from Bretwaldas is perhaps the widest foray they made into black metal and it’s a bold attack. The diversity found in their discography is one of the most interesting aspects of the band. Even though, to the unfamiliar ear, they could be concluded to be similar albums, their stylistic progression twists and turns quite often but remains rooted in some sort of black metal.

This effort could be described as some sort of epic black/crust, the doom elements aren’t as prominent here as they used to be. They always had a focus on history, archaeology and mythology and that’s what we find here again. Wartooth (bass, vocals) is an archaeologist but he’s able to easily contextualize and simplify topics to make them appropriate for metal music. It’s somewhat influenced by pagan metal here and there but it’s transformed into English ugliness. They’re never as cheesy as fellow English bands Forefather or Wodensthrone as well, they never played folk/pagan metal outright but they definitely used some Viking bits in the guitar riffs. Based on the No Clean Singing interview they did this year, the fact that pagan metal was often associated to national socialism and other far right movements wasn’t something they were keen with, for good reasons. 

The atmosphere here is pretty epic and contains some worthy anthems. Songs like “Rise” or “Smite” have some singalong lyrics, something they never really did before. It’s fairly appropriate for the music showcased here. “Smite” reminds me of Ireland’s Primordial with its slightly Celtic guitar melodies and its violent but historical hymn mood. The vocals are gruff, rough and there’s no clean singing here, like the English countryside when it rains, it’s muddy and dirty and that’s often how I like my metal. Even if Bretwaldas are a DIY affair, they’re not amateurs, they know what they do and what to do to achieve their particular sound. One of my favourite aspects of the band is the quality and melodic feel of Acwealde’s guitar parts (see “Grey Wolf” for one of the best examples), it brings another level to their Celtic Frost plus Amebix dual identity.

Listen/support the band on Bandcamp

Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost / 95%

 

Humble and heavy

Wytch Hazel from Lancaster, England makes me want to start going to church for one of the first time since christmas 1995. I argued that I wanted to stay home to build the Lego pirate ship I got but my grand-mother insisted. I only did my catholic confirmation because it was expected of me and I got a shitload of Star Wars episode I toys but damn, those boys almost make me wish I still had faith. I’ve never liked preachy religious metal and mostly stayed away from anything Christian metal related but there’s something special with Wytch Hazel. I also rarely like happy stuff so that’s like two strikes against them already. Turns out they’re one of the best bands in the world right now.

I’ve been a big fan since their second album, the aptly titled II: Sojourn, an album I’d easily place in my top twenty of the last decade. It’s just astounding that their third album is at least just as good. They succeed at continuing their signature sound but with a few tweaks that makes this album a pure banger. Their blend of NWOBHM inspired heavy metal, heartfelt English folk rock, hard rock and pop is just so catchy and memorable, it hurts. They’re able to put Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, UFO, Fairport Convention and Judas Priest in the same meatpie and make it taste wonderfully by adding their own spices. Maybe they found the dried remains of Jesus and they’ve been sniffing that since 2011? Their main strength is how they’re so good at grabbing you while never letting you go, their songs are almost aggressive in the way they reel you in and writing such efficient earworms isn’t easy. One of the complaints people had concerning Sojourn was that the album had too many ballads (I didn’t mind much) but it’s not the same here. The album is tight and flows nicely and only has “The Crown” with its beautiful acoustic guitars as its true ballad. With that said, there's soft, romantic moments scattered throughout the album such as on “Reap the Harvest” with its “death is comiiiiiing” (appropriate for our current plague) chorus or the instrumental beauty of the interlude “Sonata”. It’s a forty-ish minutes album but it’s one you’ll replay until you sing their simple but potent lyrics all day long.

Pentecost also showcases their best and heaviest production to date. The guitars are heavier than on their sophomore too, they increased the heavy metalness in their sound to great results. There’s some dope solos like on “Spirit and Fire”. It’s played big, it’s entertaining and just fiery. Colin Hendra has a distinctive voice and he’s not pushing it too much, it’s quintessential English and there’s not a bad vocal line on the whole album. Wytch Hazel are great musicians who could easily overplay and enter progressive territories but they keep things subtle but grandiose, that’s probably their biggest strength. They have the ability to restrain themselves while at the same time going all out. Still, it was nice to hear some mellotrons here and there (“I Am Redeemed”), it gave the band a fuller sound.

A song like “I Will Not” (perhaps my favourite on the album) is immediate and outstanding while the album wastes no time and gives us the riffs right when “He is the Fight” starts. The band gives us a few moments to breathe but ultimately, it’s a full experience without any faults and failures.

Even if I’ve always been somewhat uncomfortable with their Christian themes, they use them with such panache that I now have no problems with the band. I think it helps that it’s rooted in medieval themes, it feels antiquated in a good way and doesn’t remind me of the woes religions caused and are causing today. It’s an album full of feelsy melodies and it’s great for the time we’re in right now. It’s humble, hardworkin’ and just plain excellent.

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Allfather - And All Will Be Desolation (2018) / 81%

My father is proud that I review metal

I was sold right away when I first heard of this British quintet. Their look, their political stance (anti nazism, antifascism etc) and their blistering sound were good selling points. The main aspect that really made me go bonkers is that fact that they’re basically what happened when you really slow down Nails. “Suum Cuique” from Abandon All Life made me cum buckets and I was salivating at a whole album of that stuff.

Allfather is indeed tough guy slowed down beatdown but they’re guys who want to beat down white supremacists and they support trans equality. The kind of tough guys I want to actually support, you know. Not thinly veiled right wing metalloids. Still, their lyrics are full of dark images and putrid realities. The Brits mix a lot of things in their sound, from American sludge to mid-era Entombed (think Morning Star) to modern doomy/crust. You know the genre that a lot of bands play nowadays, a scene where the hardcore and the metal divisions are really blurred. It’s not a bad approach at all.

Their songs are heavy dirges, sometimes slow, sometimes mid-paced but almost condensed and compact. The opener “Black Triangle” starts with a quasi ethnic guitar introduction before delivering the good and the eleven minute closer “Lampedusa” offers a Crowbar-ish vocal performance armed with an epic song structure full of snappy heavy riffs and an a prehistoric elephantine drumming. The riffs are varying in quality, sometimes it’s fucking incredible like on those previously mentioned opener and closer but the middle of the album is a tad weaker. That’s the q-tip method and it’s often used in music. I can’t blame them. All in all, it’s a pretty solid essay by those cool Englishmen and alongside Dawn Ray’d, they represent left wing metal in the UK. Full support.

Bandcamp

Heavy Sentence – Protector/Darkest Hour (2017) / 85%

Gunz, Axxxes and Spykkkes.

I’d be lying if I said that I checked Heavy Sentence because I was interested in the music. It’s obviously because they had the best artwork I’ve ever seen. It’s over the top, silly and fun. I knew I had to acquire the seven inches, my wall asked for it for its birthday. From the lady with the latex suit, the weird boobs and the big gun to that winged skull head dude, it’s incredible. If you don’t like the artwork, there’s chances that you really suck at parties and that you order your 12 inches subway sandwiches without any sauce and cheese.

Luckily, Heavy Sentence’s music is fucking cool as well. The debut release of the Manchester based band gives us two fast paced numbers with a lot to digest. It’s heavy metal, sure but there’s a plethora of interesting genres included in their recipe as well. There’s the rough, throaty vocals of Gareth Howells who’s in a lot of bands I’ve never heard of that gives me a sort of blackened thrash/speed vibe. There’s surely some punk here too mixed with their NWOBHM love. It’s only like seven minutes but it’s all over the place and they mix melodic leads with an evil, vintage voice. What’s great about them is that it’s pretty unique despite their familiar sound. Exciter, Maiden, King Diamond? Sure, but it doesn’t sound like anyone in particular. The two songs are somewhat different too. “Protector” feels more like outgoing classic heavy/hard rock and “Darkest Hour” is like a dark mournful speedy heavy number.

It’s not cute nor safe heavy metal and this was made clear with the troglodyte wielding a great axe on the cover. Buy or get decapitated.

Bandcamp

Dark Forest – Beyond the Veil (2016) / 85%

Epic English artful metal

The English lads are back with their fourth album and it’s their most ambitious work since their formation. Beyond the Veil is a truly epic album clocking over seventy minutes and really showcase everything the band can do. I’ll admit the length was overwhelming at first and I still think it’s too long for the genre they play but there’s nothing disposable to be found on the record. They suffer from the same syndrome one of their main inspirations has been suffering for a while, I’m of course talking about the overlong albums of Iron Maiden.

Their mix of classic NWOBHM with the fun folky melodic side of Skyclad is enjoyable but since their formula is so uplifting, it’s a bit too much at times. They do unleash the necessary slower and calm moments such as the two interludes but those are a bit too short to really catch your breath between the busy, often long numbers (six songs over six minutes). Songs like “Earthbound” bring a melancholic mid-paced feel but still brings out the riffs. For such a long album, there’s not a lot of surprises but the title track has those added female vocals adding an ethereal influence to one of the catchiest tracks of Beyond the Veil. This same song also has a pure folk break without turning it into a cheese fest.

I’ve been listening to the album a lot and while it’s an exhausting experience, it’s nevertheless a rewarding. I do feel like skipping some tracks to reach the concluding fourteen minutes epic “The Lore of the Land” which really feel it could be on Dance of Death or The Final Frontier (I love those albums by the way)

Josh Winnard’s second album with the band sees the singer expands on his performance from The Awakening. The dude sounds really good and fits the elegant traditional metal identity of Dark Forest very well. His approach is clean, powerful and he has a lot of range and really fits the powerful vibe the band explores. Sure, he’s not rough or anything and is perhaps one of the most noticeable power metal aspects of the band but I enjoyed his contribution. The choruses and vocal lines are super epic and never boring.

Patrick Jenkins and the band founder Christian Horton both delivers excellent twin guitar harmonies and like their ancestors, their guitar styles encompass heavy, folk, epic power or even speed metal and considering the songs are packed, it’s always combined into a tightly knit package. The leads are well written and they also know how to write clean soothing moments (like on “The Wild Hunt” ).

While it’s too long-winded for nothing, Beyond the Veil is a great album worth your precious time if you like this kind of metal. They’re certainly able to represent England’s past in a wonderful way.

Dark Forest on Facebook

Originally published on The Metal Observer

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Check 'Em Before You Wreck 'Em (2014) / 85%

I like big butts and I can not lie

This English trio possibly has the best band name to ever exist. I dig their fringe historical reference to this British navy officer who died in a shipwreck in 1705 (thanks Wikipedia) and I must say that I was already sold just by looking at their name, album cover (in this case, their solid debut album) and the overall aesthetics of those three vintage weirdos lead by Johnny Gorilla. It turns out their music just freaking rocks so it’s a win-win situation.

One of the main components of their music is how it’s so effortlessly fun and trashy (note: not "thrashy") it is. Their blend of hard hitting psychedelic hard rock, heavy metal and some doomy stoner influences truly hits the spot. Their riffs and bass lines are groovier than Austin Powers on a new brand of extremely potent acid. I’m in constant grin mode while listening to the ten songs of this record, it’s irreverent, puerile and I wouldn’t want it any other way. The ode to curvy women “The Thicker The Better” is a good example of their approach. Like many bands evolving in the vintage metal/rock revival (a movement now out of breathe), they don’t lack balls. I mean as they’re probably busy playing with theirs and those of their mates all day long, They really know how to integrate this abstract element to their sound. Their balls are cleaner this time around though, the production isn’t as raw as on their debut but the bluesy goodness is still quite present. There’s no tricks, there’s only one guitar and no extra tracks added, the playing is flashy yet totally unrefined (in a good way), I like how sometimes it just goes into jam territories and the soloing and riffs just can’t stop bludgeoning you. I'd like some more extended numbers where they'd go completely insane though

It’s so sleazy that Lemmy’s corpse would probably nod and drink another whiskey to celebrate. Gorilla is definitely inspired by the late singer in the way he sings but he’s still cleaner and the compositions of the Admiral are more varied than most of what Motorhead ever did (excluding the excellent 1916). He alternates between lead guitar and vox well and there’s a good balance between all the elements and instruments. If you’re a power trio, you obviously need a strong rhythm section and Louis and Bill are solid as hell. The drums are loud and the bass is as thick as Siri, the mix is perfect and puts the emphasis on all the right things at all time.

They’re not simply rehashing the good old days of Cream and Hendrix even if it sounds vintage. I was able to distinguish some elements that made them a modern band that just enjoys playing their music like it’s 1972 while hanging out with Budgie and Sir Lord Baltimore (do I sense an inspiration for their name here?). It’s mostly in the riffs and the heaviness but you can tell they’re from our era even if they wear bell bottoms! I also feel they're combining the 60s and the 70s together to create this sort of proto-metal feel and that's highly enjoyable.

From the slow psych solo-heavy final of the eight minutes epic “Captain Merryweather” to the urgency of tracks like “Don’t Hear it… Fear it” (the name of their debut album…), it’s simply an awesome timeless record who could please both the young and the old rockers. They’re currently working on their third album and I’m sure it will be hard and heavy. I’ve seen their more famous friends of Uncle Acid and the Deabeats live but I’d like to experience these guy now!

Unlike the real Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel, I hope those three guys survive the tumultuous seas of rock & roll and make it to North America one day.

To be played as loud as possible on an old ass system!