Hell-Born - The Call of Megiddo

HELL-BORN - The Call of Megiddo (CONQUER Records CD 2012)

After the impressive return with "Hellblast" EP, Hell-Born had their hands full, composing the debut album "The Call of Megiddo", which came out in January 2002. Well, for me this is a great record, an album, which I can listen to endlessly and it never bores me. Hell-Born with their characteristic style of thrash, death and black metal mixture really speaks me to and it always sounds impressive.  

On "The Call of Megiddo" the music sounds even more old school and traditional, with plenty of 80's metal influences, but transformed into more extreme and relentless sound. Take the riffage style for instance; they are rather simple, but venomous and vicious, sharp and thrashing and they are always damn memorable and infectious! Sometimes you'll find a more melodic pattern, there are obviously these traditional chorus parts as well - so Hell-Born really goes back into the canons of old school metal with "The Call of Megiddo" fully. You won't find here a song like "Raise the Dead" for instance, which would be such an obvious Bathory or Venom worship, but there’s more to this album to discover. Another important thing for me is how powerful and straight forward "...Megiddo” sounds. It's not always fast, actually I think that most of it is rather mid paced, but it's got that energetic vibe and dark, bestial feel. More so, the music sounds fresh and vital, not dull and repetitive. It's like a quick punch in your face, short but bloody painful.  

Yeah, as you could see, I definitely love this album and I am quite disappointed to see "The Call of Megiddo" so forgotten and underrated nowadays. You better get a copy, this album and this band deserve attention. Only the art for “...Megiddo” is a damn crap haha! 

Standout tracks: "The Call of Megiddo", "Hell-Born", "Legion Is Our Name" 

Verdict: 80/100