Clenched Fist
The Gift of Death
Inferno Records
Released 15th September 2012
Artwork by Igor Davila
Clenched Fist –
São Paulo, Brazil
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/clenchedfistheavymetal
Buy the album
here: with 30% discount
http://www.inferno-records.net/
Genre:
Traditional Heavy Metal
Brazilian masters of metal from 2006 have now released their 10 track album entitled 'The Gift of Death' and they are out for blood - yours!
The cover is grainy
and depicts a battle scene of ferocious soldiers unmercifully going to war and
seeking out the weak enemy armed with spears and shields in their attempt to
conquer and very apt for the title of the CD “The Gift of Death!”
Intro
A very serious
and sophisticated intro that immediately begs the question – are you ready for
this?
Codex Gigas
Superb melodic
sway immediately has your attention. This is how traditional metal should
sound, with lashings of cymbals, copious drumming and high voltage riffs all
contained in a neat little melodic box. It has that medieval feel about it
which offers something different. The vocal is strong and commanding and blends
in well with the cacophony of sound produced by the rest of the band.
Spirit of the
Death
Chugging and
riff excellent, the vocals soar with a lot of diversity and have an operatic
feel to them. I think the band is inspired by Maiden, they incorporate high energy
levels, charged guitar riffs and good old heavy metal but with a certain bite
and passion.
Medieval Land
This track
immediately brings to mind a medieval battle of old, its charging regimented
drum beat plods in a regimented form and the vocals are scathing and raw. It
holds a great deal of melodic stance as it builds to a fever pitch with
rapturous riffing – the tapping of cymbals reminds me of swash buckling swords
- let the battle commence!
Burning the
Holy Gates
Power and speed
metal here we come! The driving frenzy of this track alone is stupendous,
although the vocals sound slightly off key here which dampens the ardour somewhat,
but the drumming is immense and sweeps you up into its feverish clutches and
the cackling laugh adds that special touch.
Hate of Dogmas
The fires burn
fiercely to a rampaging whisper of vocal and drums that will wake the dead. It
holds an atmospheric gathering of darkness and yet carries a superb shrill
pitched vocal. – Superb!
Asgard
This has
melodic sway in abundance and then furthers into a raucous frenzy of kick beats
and high level vocal giving the listener a huge wave of metal to ride upon. This
is a beast of brute force and melodic passages. Again tremendous.
The Signal
The old school
rhythms again apparent and domineering with tremendous savage vocal brings life
to this track. The sound effects are mesmerizing – the cannon’s explode in time
to the death defying sounds that protrude from the shaking speakers in true
metal form and bombard the senses nicely!
Speed Metal
Attack
Classic track! Its
damming splendor exudes a ferocity of malice contained within the riffing,
whilst the vocal although clean has its gnarly moments and the drumming never
loosens its ever tightening grip to a hard edged bass hook, packed with
venomous melody and attack they do!
Old School
Avenger
A slower paced
track emerges and offers a good vocal range from gnarly to shrill pitched
raucous screams, but somehow the approach to this track is slightly lessened in
intensity as it seems to meander most of the time, but the highlight is the superb
highly charged and ferocious guitar that suddenly emerges towards the end of
the track.
To Sum up:
A stunning
album containing a great vocal range and stupendous guitar giving the listener
a ride back into the past but the band have put their own stamp onto the mix.
This album has many quirky features from operatic vocal and raspy whispers to
high octane levels of aggression encapsulated by some well-produced sound
effects and have not left anything out although on ‘Burning the Holy Gates’ the
vocals does have an ‘off key’ moment. But overall a brilliant album that
contains a lot of bite, and energy and most definitely get the blood pumping!!
With a lot of ground covered Clenched
Fist are definitely a force to be reckoned with.
9/10
Track List:
Intro
Codex Gigas
Spirit of the Death
Medieval Land
Burning the Holy Gates
Hate of Dogmas
Asgard
The Signal
Speed Metal Attack
Old School Avenger
Members:
Chris Ferreira - Bass
Will Wild - Drums
Vagner Fidelis - Vocals
Christian Damasio - Guitars (2012-present)
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