ALBUM REVIEW: Eclipse Of The Dual Moons – High Command

We talk about a lot of metal bands here at Distorted Sound – obviously, it’s kind of our thing – but you won’t find many in the year of our Lord 2022 that are quite as ‘metal’ as HIGH COMMAND. On their sophomore full-length Eclipse Of The Dual Moons, the Worcester-based five-piece invite us to return to the lore-filled world of Secartha as they soundtrack tales of swords and sorcery with a glorious concoction of Bay Area thrash, crossover, traditional heavy metal, and even splashes of first wave black metal. And, in case you hadn’t guessed, it’s bloody awesome.

With eight tracks, like all the classics, Eclipse Of The Dual Moons is a reminder that metal doesn’t always need to move a million miles forward to be a total riot – see also POWER TRIP’s Nightmare Logic, of course, URNE’s Serpent & Spirit from last year, and even this band’s 2019 debut Beyond The Wall Of Desolation. It’s the kind of album that makes you wonder why you’d ever listen to anything else when really all you need are the killer riffs, dazzling fret runs and vicious vocals that this record delivers in abundance.

Produced with the band’s returning collaborator Seth Manchester, Eclipse Of The Dual Moons hits the absolute bullseye for what it needs to sound like. There’s a slightly cavernous edge, especially to the barky vocals of Kevin Fitzgerald, but at no point does it feel like HIGH COMMAND have vanished too far into one of the many caves that we imagine litter the landscape of the world they’ve created. The guitars have a real sharp bite to them, and the drums sound great too, but arguably the real win here is the clear presence in the mix of bassist Chris Berg. Of course, this hasn’t always been a guarantee for records like this, so it really is satisfying to hear his steady low-end come through as clearly as it does on tracks like Immortal Savagery and Fortified By Bloodshed.

It should go without saying that there is a degree of nerdiness to this release too. This is, after all, blackened thrash metal with a significant emphasis on building a world inspired by 20th century pulp writers like Robert E. Howard (famed creator of Conan The Barbarian); if there wasn’t at least a whiff of cheese we’d be disappointed. Perhaps most obviously this comes in the form of some very 80s-style synths that appear on a couple of tracks, as well as the occasionally quite cartoonish spoken parts in which some of the inhabitants of Secartha find their voice. Fortunately the band don’t lean too heavily on either of these, and anyway it is far easier just to let yourself get swept up in the thrill of it all.

Provided you give in to it then, Eclipse Of The Dual Moons should have no trouble making 48 minutes disappear in its company. The quality is steady and the compositions are expansive, with six of the eight tracks topping the five-minute mark, but if anything it’s closer Spires Of Secartha that merits specific attention. Just a couple seconds shy of a 12-minute runtime, here we find a villain set on Secartha’s destruction, faced with a defiant response of “The spires of Secartha will not fall to you / The spires of Secartha will stand long after you rot”. There are headbanging grooves, harmonised leads, blistering riffs and solos, and of course the almost obligatory close of tolling bells, acoustic guitars and mournful strings which feel like the perfect credit roll for both this epic track and album as a whole.

Some will say they’ve heard all this before, and most would be correct, but when done as well as this you’d be a right miserable bastard to complain. Eclipse Of The Dual Moons is one of those shot in the arm records that should never struggle to slap a grin on your face and put some fire in your veins. Unless you quite understandably hit replay as soon as it’s finished, you’ll probably find yourself reaching for some absolute classics of the genre to follow it up with, not out of a need for something better, but because after hearing this little else will satisfy.

Rating: 8/10

Eclipse Of The Dual Moons is set for release on November 25th via Southern Lord Recordings.

Like HIGH COMMAND on Facebook.