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Welcome To Unbound Zine |
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| Album Review |
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Hooded Menace-The Eyeless Horde
(Self-released, 2008)
With a crushing combination of doom metal dirges and early 90s death metal intensity, Hooded Menace is like a slow moving zombie horde. The pace is deliberate but the intensity of the attack goes right for the throat. Crushing doom riffs are littered with hints of melody hitting on a style of doom that is almost non-existent these days. This is slow and brooding yet still very memorable. If you cut your teeth on Asphyx, and Autopsy this is right up your alley.
The problem with a lot of doom is that the riffing just isn't very catchy. Sure its dark and slow moving but it just doesnt have much staying power. Hooded Menace certainly doesnt have that problem. Possibly because the entire sound is filtered through early 90's death metal, the songs manage to be very memorable just like the bands of that time period. The two songs here are incredibly dark and heavy yet you will actually remember the riffs after the songs are done playing. The almost Paradise Lost or Candlemass melodic elements also help the music have a memorable edge as well. I see the band as more of an homage to the days of when doom metal was just as excited and was more closely related to the death metal genre.
One standout element of the two tracks is the excellent melodic guitar lead in The Eyeless Horde. Unfortunately there are only two songs on here, so here's hoping that the band has more of this in store for us when the full length is released later this year. The vocals are another amazing element to this band. They have a sick and disgusting feel similar to Autopsy that fits the music perfectly. It makes a nice contrast to the melodic riffs but fits perfectly with the dark dirges as well.
If you are a fan of early 90's doom and death metal, Hooded Menace is a band that will have you reveling in their sickness in no time. This is a dark and brooding slab of metal that does more in two songs than most doom metal bands do with entire albums these days.
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 UN: I read that Hooded Menace started out playing Candlemass covers before continuing on with original material. Was their chemistry right from the start?
Lasse/guitar&vocals: Yeah, the right chemistry was there from the start. We loved playing Candlemass and all that heavy and slow stuff. Surely we loved to get our own doomy stuff together. No problem.
UN: How has the response to The Eyeless Horde been so far? Are there a lot of people enjoying the bands style of doom metal? Has it been receiving positive reviews throughout the underground?
Lasse:The response has been just amazing! The reviews have been way better than we dared to expect although we knew that we had strong material on that demo. I'd say that Hooded Menace has started off better than any of my bands.
UN: The demo led to a record deal with Razorback Records. Were you excited when they offered the band a deal?
Lasse: Yes, of course! Only a retard wouldn't be excited about that! Razorback rules and we could not be in better hands.
UN: They also are working with your other band Vacant Coffin. Do you have a good relationship with Billy and Jill? Have you know them for a long time?
Lasse:We get along great and we agree on lots of stuff so there really is no problem. I got to know them last year when Billy discovered Vacant Coffin on Myspace.
UN: How much material does the band have written for the full length album? Do you have any idea when you guys will be recording the album? Will it be at the same studio you recorded the demo? It sounds fantastic!
Lasse: I compose all the songs and since I've been quite busy with Vacant Coffin lately I have written only a couple of new riffs for Hooded Menace so far. Now since we have all the material for Vacant Coffin album written and we are slowly heading for the studio (our rehearsal place) I'm having more time to concentrate on composing for Hooded Menace. So I have no idea when we are going to record Hooded Menace album but somewhere around 2008 anyway. We will probably record it like we did the demo which means we are going to set up a studio at our rehearsal place. I'm glad to hear you like the way the demo sounds! Well, the album will crush the demo in every level anyway, hehe!
UN: Will the songs be along the same lines as the two songs from the demo? Can we expect any surprises? Will the band experiment with any fast elements or will it remain truly doom oriented?
Lasse: Since I have written only a couple of new riffs I guess I should say I don't know but actually I think I know because we want to continue on the same path as before. So, there should not be any dramatic changes. We don't wanna raise the tempo too much. I don't belive that we are going to get any faster than the fastest parts on our demo. Maybe a few a bit more rocking riffs can be here and there but not many! We wanna stay dark, crushingly heavy and slow. We don't want to disappoint Hooded Menace fans like many of my old faves disappointed me by getting too much into rocking, lighter and easier style. Fuck that kinda progress! We started off as a dark band and we are going to finish this the dark way whenever that day comes!
UN: Artwork is always a crucial component of any release on Razorback. Do you guys know who will be doing the art? It is safe to assume that it will be Blind Dead related?
Lasse: The extremely talented artist named Putrid who draw the logo will be doing the artwork as well. Most likely it will be Blind Dead related, yeah!
UN: The band is very influenced by the Blind Dead series it seems. What is it about the films that draw you to them? Are you fans of all of the films in the series?
Lasse: We dig all the films in the Blind Dead series. I think the eerie atmosphere and the way the Blind Dead actually look like (they look scary, don't they?!) appeal to us. I love cheesy horror flicks with cheesy mosters etc. but the Blind Dead are like scary for real! I don't laugh while watching them, I just enjoy the overall eerie and dark atmosphere when the Blind Dead appear. It's hard to describe. Those movies have an unique feeling. We try to capture the same kinda atmospehere in Hooded Menace's music and that's a challenge.
UN: The style of the band seems to draw from a time when doom metal and death metal were more closely related. Would you agree that the early 90s was one of the most exciting times for metal music?
Lasse: Actually I think the 80's was the most exciting time for metal music. Less doom/death back then but still... I was raised on metal during 80's and I love those times. Anyway, the early 90's rule also and metal got more mixed up and soon it got watered, haha!
UN: Would you agree that Asphyx and Autopsy are big influences on the Hooded Menace sound? Any other bands you would say helped form the Hooded Menace sound?
Lasse: Totally agreed! Although Candlemass and Cathedral are even bigger influences in Hooded Menace! Also Hellhammer and Winter could be mentioned as an influence.
UN: Do you listen to any newer doom metal? I think there are a lot of good bands but the funeral doom bands are just too damn boring for my tastes usually. 16 minute songs that go nowhere are not my cup of tea.
Lasse: I don't listen to new stuff much. The Swedish Isole is probably the newest doom band I've listened to. Well, actually the Finnish Puritan is the latest! But I don't know if they're actually doom, haha... but sure it's heavy and depressing material! I agree with you on funeral doom bands. They are usually boring and they seem to lack the ability to write decent songs. I don't follow the scene too much because it sucks anyway,hahah... so I rather stick to my old favourites like the early albums by Candlemass, the first Cathedral album etc.
UN: Aside from the Blind Dead films, what other films are you into? Are you fans of Italian splatter? Im actually watching Zombie Holocaust while writing these interview questions.
Lasse: Yeah, Italian is good! There are tons of great films in this world but let's mention a few I dig: City of the living Dead, House by the Cemetery, C.H.U.D., Superstition, Evil Dead, Re-animator, Burial Ground, Toxic Avenger, Street Trash, Bad Taste, New York Ripper, Basket Case, The Burning. New horror films don't really impress me.
UN: Does it bother you that metal has turned into a product? New bands form and play certain styles just to have a shot at making big bucks. At least we still have the underground alive with labels like Razorback doing it for the right reasons.
Lasse: It sucks because you can't escape it if you are dealing with media. Anyway, everyone can do what he/she wants to. At least we get a good laugh of all that ridiculous garbage! Luckily there are still good bands and good labels in the underground. Without a label like Razorback and the likes life would be so much more boring. They are in this for the passion not the bucks. Good music still exists although the golden years of metal are far behind us. We suck from the past and hope that it would still sound somehow refreshing and passionated. It's all about recycling the good old ideas with style and soul.
Official Hooded Menace Myspace
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