First album for Hellman!
Formed in Chile in 2021, the band made up of Felipe Ferrada (bass/vocals), Sebastián Puente (guitar, Nuclear) and Pedro Pablo Puente (drums, Conflicted) announce after three years the release of Born, Suffering, Death, via Black Lodge Records.
The album opens with the mysterious sounds of The 4th Power, which eventually morph into catchy riffs in the purest Death’n’Roll tradition. Aggressive vocals seamlessly join the effective mix and its dark leads, before Desktop Activist brings its devastating Hard Rock-influenced groove into the equation, along with screaming heady harmonics. The band continue in this driving Old School approach with A Waste Of Human Being, placing an accessible rhythm with a sometimes slightly abrasive saturation with Thrash roots but still as percussive as the discerning ear can associate with some American bands, then the musicians continue their charge with The Cycle. The track is slightly shorter and livelier, combining blast and energetic rhythm, before Bringer Of Death takes a more measured approach, adopting simple, yet still razor-sharp Heavy Metal influences. Unnecesary Consuming follows with Motörhead-inspired roots, letting the rhythm section rage at times, while the screaming guitars appear from time to time, while the three lads roll over us again with Silent Genocide, the next composition, which is more raw while placing more airy and dark elements at times. The track considerably slows down before its middle to develop an apocalyptic ambience before accelerating again to lead us to Sacrifice Zone, another short but effective track that lets the trio use a fairly wide range of supercharged inspirations. It presents us with its final double, starting with Out Of Hand and its rather basic but quickly belligerent rhythm with the arrival of vocals and leads, then the musicians give a wilder touch to their heavy mix to close the album with Where Was God.
Hellman plays a skilful blend of Death’n’Roll, Heavy Metal and ballsy Groove Metal with effective Old School tones. Halfway between all their inspirations, Born, Suffering, Death will satisfy its audience thanks to its catchy riffs.
65/100
