Gospel of the Horns - A Call to Arms

GOSPEL OF THE HORNS - A Call to Arms (INVICTUS Records CD 2002)

I'm not quite sure if this band is still active or not, because we haven't really heard anything new from Gospel of the Horns in few years now. And the last full length album "Realm of the Damned" came out in 2007, which is just too fuckin long for me. I consider Gospel of the Horns as one of the most worthy beasts of the Australian orthodox extreme metal scene, who may have never reached the fame of Destroyer666, but certainly are equally good. And very similar musically, which I don't think is a shame to say. But as I mentioned, Gospel of the Horns are not too active, when speaking of the material they release. They did only two albums through these 25 years of band's existence. My personal favourite is their debut - a vicious and utterly bestial dose of black / thrash under the title "A Call to Arms". 

This quite short record works for me perfectly. The length is absolutely right, as this way you get everything the best bands such as GOTH can serve and everything is packed tightly to burst out with merciless force and pure, sadistic aggression. There's no time to be wasted for anything unnecessary, so you will hear just fantastic traditional metal riffs, dressed in killer, harsh and morbid production. The vocals are nasty, riffs are so sharp that they cut through your flesh easily... and when I play this album, I just bang my head without giving a shit about anything. Yes I know that it sounds infantile, but this is exactly how you will feel, when playing such kind of music - you will bang your fuckin head, swallow its aggression and power and get all this negative feel, which somehow turns into something positive, because this album makes me a happy metalhead haha! Fuck that though, there are seven awesome songs, each of them sounds absolutely great and kicks hard. It is obvious that Gospel of the Horns sounds a lot like Destroyer666, but they have nothing to worry - their music is defending itself from start to finish. Songs like "The Trial of Mankind" are like a black / thrashing anthem; slower, obscure, yet catchy due to its simplistic and memorable riffage. But there are also fast motherfuckers, which slay completely like "Chaos Bringer", an awesome opening track, which is just fantastic! The whole album is a bunch of deadly, vicious black / thrash metal and I cannot find anything to complain about. Strongly recommended... if you've never had a chance to hear it, please do your homework, get a copy asap. And enjoy this shit! 

Standout tracks: "Chaos Bringer", "The Trial of Mankind", "A Call to Arms" 

Verdict: 85/100