The Hudson Horror – Nemesis – Power Of Metal.dk

We all know that Metalheads love their subgenres. There is Thrash Metal, there is Death Metal, there is Black Metal and many, many more subgenres and even sub-subgenres. Most bands fit nicely in their self-chosen subgenre, while others are more difficult to define. After this long introduction it is pretty obvious that I consider The Hudson Horror to be one of those bands that are difficult define. They describe themselves as a Melodic Death Metal band, but they feel more like a classical Old School Metal band that is on a field trip into Death Metal territory. But so what? It is not as if the band was trying to hide it. In fact they even added a homage to Iron Maiden (“Let him who have understanding…”) to the third song “The Ophidian Resurrection”.

This kind of blend works as the first song “What The Moon Brings” shows. It starts with a guitar intro that could also be from an Old School Metal band, then jumps into growling Death Metal territory.

There are also examples for true Death Metal though. One example is the second song “Visions of Disgust” with its growling and brutal drum sequences. The third song “The Ophidian Resurrection” also packs quite some punch with its powerful opening sequence made up of brutal drumming, growling and screaming all supported by some brutal riffs with some nice though short guitar solos thrown in. The next song “Wolf’s Blood” dangles even more into Old School Metal territory. Yes, the song is still Death Metal, but there is a slow and relatively clear guitar riff that would also befit an Old School Metal band. A similarly clear and slow guitar riff crops up in the next song “Anathema” as well, which creates quite a contrast to the otherwise pretty brutal song and reminds me quite a bit of The Haunted. The next two songs follow the same path, though I must say that I found the scream of a woman who tried to sound scared to death at the end of “Scarlet” a bit over the top. Fortunately, the last song “Nemesis” makes up for this small let down with the contrast between its slower and faster parts.

All In all I must say that this album is hard to digest at times. It is still interesting and worthwhile, but it will also challenge you, which is another thing where the band reminds me a lot of The Haunted’s “The Dead Eye” era. 7 devils are more than justified, and who knows? The Hudson Horror might have the potential for delivering even better albums in the future.

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