Hürlement
De Sang et d´Acier

May 2009
Released: 2009, Emanes Metal Records
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen

´Viva la French heavy metal!´, may some of you yell from the top of your rotten lungs when hearing these French heavy metal warriors debut album, DE SANG ET D´ACIER. I do also, but probably not with as full sheer excitement as some of you.



These Paris-based four horsemen trust the power of raw and somewhat unpolished heavy metal, borrowing a thing or two from here and there. The band has named such groups as Manowar, Running Wild and Judas Priest as some of their main inspirations, and Manowar´s influence is actually kinda easy to hear due to Alexis´ twists for his vocal parts that remind a bit of Eric Adams of Manowar ("Moine Guerrier" is pretty shameless Manowar worship from start to the last seconds). Hürlement´s aggressive and striking heavy metal on the other hand, is mostly played with strong up-tempo, yet it is performed somewhat decently and enjoyable, without offering any true aces on the table, however. It´s also seasoned with a few solos that are kinda so-so, leaving something to be re-worked for on future occasions.



DE SANG ET D´ACIER is not much more than a very traditional heavy metal effort that harks back to the times when some of the most classic heavy metal albums were recorded (if you didn´t get it yet, we are talking about those nostalgic 80s times, you fool!). There´s neither ´we-are-breaking-new-ground´ ambitions attached to Hürlement, nor is there something in them (unfortunately) that would separate them that clearly from the big masses of today´s metal releases. Still, nothing changes the fact that I enjoyed them myself quite a bit nevertheless.