EP REVIEW: Phantom Bell – Bombs of Hades

Forming just shy of two decades ago, BOMBS OF HADES are one of the more impressive acts to have come out of Sweden’s brilliant extreme metal underground. Blending slick death metal hooks with a dense, crust punk undercurrent, this band have crafted several incredibly intense and powerful records since their Meathook Diaries demo first saw the light of day in 2006. Their latest EP, Phantom Bell, comes over four years since the release of their excellent Death Mask Replica album, and proves to be more than worth the wait.

This EP starts with Phantom Bell, a powerful piece of music that has some great, catchy guitars and caustic vocals, which makes this an instantly memorable offering. Blending huge, crushing rhythms with tight, slick leads, it’s a brief, but monstrous, way to kick this record off. Bridge of Sighs carries forward the soaring, hard rock inspired leads and dense bass and drum sound, whilst injecting a slight, epic edge into the music, which gives this song a darkly epic quality that it’s hard not to love. The vocals once again carve a fierce path through the music, counterpointing the music with a harsh snarl that acts as an excellent contrast.

Lungs uses steady drumming and minimalist guitar hooks to build a fantastic, hypnotic sound that starts the see the more acerbic crust influences in the bands sound begin to come to the fore a little more. This is a song that’s definitely centred around the vocals, which give this otherwise beguiling song a visceral, venomous side that gives this song a far meatier sound. It’s easily one of the records more impressive affairs, standing head and shoulders above the two that came before it. Kamikaze has a much livelier and more aggressive sound, with a more adventurous approach to the guitar work helping to pepper this track with plenty of robust, groove-laden riffs that immediately command the listeners attention. Although each of the songs on here has a bleak undercurrent to it, this really sees the band explore this monolithic, brooding sound much more thoroughly, creating a vast, expansive atmosphere that keeps the song extremely engrossing from start to finish, bringing the record to a close on one of its more grand moments.

Comparing Phantom Bell with BOMBS OF HADES‘ previous offerings, it’s clear that they’ve begun to favour a sharper and more focused production, without sacrificing any of the visceral intensity or sonic depth that makes them so impressive. Although there’s a few points where it feels as though the music would have benefited from some slightly more adventurous riffs and a dirtier sound, overall, this is another great slab of music from a tight and focused band.

Rating: 7/10

Phantom Bell is set for release April 17th via Black Lodge Records.

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