Hell Militia - Last Station On The Road To Death

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\r\n  Hell Militia are French and although they\r\nexist since 2001, they have only released one album in 2005.  This is their second release on the misanthropic\r\nblack metal genre.\r\n

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\r\n  Slow torturing parts, fast tempo changes and\r\na sick atmosphere, are some of their musical traits.  The drum-work is quite simplistic and the\r\nbass is heavy in the slow parts and rather fuzzy in the fast ones.  The guitars and the vocals are easily\r\ndistinguished, with the voices being higher on the mix which is in accord with\r\nthe album’s general mood.  The tone of\r\nthe vocalist is interesting, although the performance is rather shallow.  Sometimes he reminds me of Attila (Mayhem) but\r\nhe is not close to the grandeur of the Hungarian frontman.  The guitars are noisy with a lot of\r\nDissection and Mayhem-like riffs, without sounding too much like those two\r\ngroups.  On the fast parts you can hear\r\nthe typical scratchy guitars but there are also some doom riffs here and there.\r\n

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\r\n  The production is the right one for the\r\ngenre, loud and dirty without losing the point. \r\nComposition-wise the album is not something extraordinary but I believe\r\nthat Hell Militia are more focused on building a certain mood.  I really liked “Et Inferno Ego”, “The\r\nUltimate Deception”, “Fili Diaboli” and “The Pig That Became A God” which reminded\r\nme of Satyricon.  There is also a cover\r\nsong here, “Shoot, Knife, Strangle, Beat & Crucify” by the infamous punk\r\nrocker GG Alin.  A smart choice from a\r\nmusic genre that is not that far away from the beginnings of black metal.\r\n

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\r\n   To sum\r\nup, it’s a release based on its insane atmosphere created by the vocals and the\r\nguitars, with obvious influences from the Scandinavian metal scene.  It’s quite minimalistic and will certainly appeal\r\nto the fans of the -made in France- black metal genre. \r\nI must admit that every time I listen to it, it sounds somewhat better\r\nand better, which is important by my standards. \r\nI believe they are worth checking out, though they can do much better.  Along with Arkhon Infaustus, Antaeus and\r\nOtargos they are worthy ambassadors of the ever growing French black metal\r\nscene.\r\n

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