Hades

$avior$elf (Metal Blade)
by Martin Popoff

Yeah, yeah, long story, but the basic gist is that this is a comeback record by a fetching, always well-regarded consortium of bands known as Non-Fiction, Watchtower, and (of course) Hades. And $avior$elf lives up to the legacy in enigmatic fashion, sorta like if Led Zeppelin decided to booze Bonham-style and write a record in Portland (y’know, between the burgs of Bay Area thrash and the home of Nevermore). It’s an absolute thrill to hear a band so squarely heartfelt metallic and even boxing-stance retro, writing in this strange danger zone, throwing curves into hardcore politics, acoustic depression, red hot Anthrax rippery, and even a solo vocal through “The Lord’s Prayer.” But the highlight by far is the dug deep groove of “To Know One,” which somehow combines Sabbath, Savatage, and Aerosmith funk and flips itself into a suicide dirge. Brilliant!

And “End Of The Bargain” just builds and steamrolls, once more pointing to a songwriting greatness perhaps last glimpsed within Exodus or a band I used to like as a fogged teen called Metallica (uh, actually I was in my early 20s). Vocalist Alan Tecchio is another piece of the danger game here, going to the edge with a variety of styles (once again, when at his best, up there with Warrel Dane), and coming close to crashing, as on “Fall,” where you can hear the hurt along with a detectable slippage in tune. I don’t know man, there’s just a proud, risky, warts-and-all, highly experimental creativity at work here, coursing vigorously through a record that ends suitably and perplexed, fading out on the wings of a layered, ironically churchy guitar instrumental called “The Athiest.” Righteous, dynamic, and unapologetically heavy metal brewage for the new age.
(2828 Cochran St. PMB #302 Simi Valley, CA 93065)