Hospital Of Death (H.O.D.) Beer Bitches Blood

Self-released CD showcasing their talents, the twelve tracks on offer are (and spot the recurring theme!);

1. Enter the HOD. Intro. Casualty theme-tune, then played in rock style which leads directly into..
2. Down That Hatch. Mid-paced thrasher with vocals reminiscent of Matt Barlow. Good tempo changes before a power metal bridge leads into thrash finale.
3. I Am A Tiger. Mid-paced thrash meets power metal. Great kick-drumming mid-song and H.O.D. chanting before major shredding starts.
4. Eyezabeams Of Osiris. Starts with riff reminiscent of Powerslave-era Maiden before chuggy early Anthrax sounding main section.Tails off poorly and ends weakly.
5. Hogs Of War. Chuggy opening riff before slightly faster thrasher with subtle tempo changes. Starting to get a bit samey.
6. Kicked To The Kerb. Awesome Halford-esque opening scream. Reminds you of early Anthrax or Testament but by this stage we've heard it all before.
7. We Go Together. Surely a piss-take. Shockingly bad ballad which seems to last for weeks (possibly months - it really is that bad). Imagine Winger TRYING to write a bad song and you are close. Horrific.
8. Death Shed. Faster thrasher which erases the horrors of the previous track initially but then fizzles out into tedium.
9. Fear The Ambulance. Great opening riff, very chuggy, leading into...mid-paced thrasher. Good song but we've heard it all before. Quality mid-section leads into great solo.
10. Ooh That's It. Mid-tempo thrasher.
11. Transformers. Thrash metal cover version of the "robots in disguise" tune. Shite. In fact utter shite.
12. White The Lightning. Chuggy thrasher inspired by drinking cheap cider.
    
    So I've reviewed the CD as it stands. It's well played throughout, musicianship is good and the production is fine but the songs get very samey. And then you see them live and it all makes sense. These guys play tongue-in-cheek thrash and clearly want to have a laugh whilst enjoying what they do. This will give you an idea of the general style - go and see them live and try not to grin like an inmate who spends much of his time in a padded room. This CD is flat and does not do justice to the flair they have live.