Date Released: 09th September 2022. Record Label: Ripple Music. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Live At The Hallowed Halls: Tracklisting
1.Silhouette 08:53
2.Wicked Threads 04:35
3.John the Baptist 07:52
4.Death of a New Day 07:04
5.Tribute 07:58
6.Monuments to Ruins 05:32
7.Ten Mountain High (bonus track) 06:55
Members
for this recording was:
RUSS KENT - vocals.
JAKE NAVARRA - guitar and vocals.
PAUL KOTT - guitar.
BILLY ANDERSON - bass.
BRYCE SHELTON - keyboards.
ERIC RANCOURT - drums.
Guest musicians:
ROB WRONG - guitar on 'Silhouette'.
ANDREA VIDAL - vocals on 'John the Baptist'.
MATT PIKE - vocals and lead guitar on 'Monuments to Ruins'
Review
Stoner Metallers High Tone Son Of A Bitch (HTSOB) have always remained firmly within the underground scene despite the famed members who make up this highly talented unit. The band have released a string of acclaimed releases throughout their career and fully reformed back in 2019. The band performed two sets in November 2020 for broadcast as a special exclusive on Gimme Metal TV and as part of the Mutants of the Monster 2 online festival.
LIve At The Hallowed Halls is the result of these two concerts and sees the band on blistering form playing their most well known hits with an all star line-up of great musicians from the underground Stoner Metal scene with a few guest appearances such as Rob Wrong, Andrea Vidal and a certain Matt Pike.
This album is a stirring mix of action packed Stoner Metal album with HTSOB playing to the best of their abilities. The songs are a great mix of Psych Rock, Doom Metal and Stoner Metal with a huge HEAVY METAL sound being played on superb songs such as Silhouette, Wicked The Threads, John The Baptist, Tribute and Moments To Ruin.
The one thing I enjoyed most about the album is the raw energy from this live album. As the album has a wonderfully energetic and volatile sound that you can only ever get from attending a live concert such as this. The lush sounding Psychedelic Sounds is another highlight especially when they’re mixed with the thrilling Stoner Metal sounds that HTSOB play astoundingly well on the first opening tracks for Silhouette and Wicked The Threads.
The live album is consistently gloomy and with this album being recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic only adds to the whole experience.
Ripple Music is releasing this album and I couldn’t think of another great label who could release this album. Ripple Music is the premiere label for the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal underground scene.
All of the musicians who perform on this album bring their “A” game to this release but the main standout is perhaps lead vocalist Russ Kent on vocals and Jake Navarra on guitars/vocals. Jake was drafted into the band to play these gigs and Jake feels he’s been part of the band since its original inception back in 2003. Russ is outstanding with a vocal performance that oozes star quality especially during the more tender and emotional moments.
Live At The Hallowed Halls is one of those great gems that the underground scene throws up once in a while and with this being a LIVE album, this record makes the listener feel they were really at these great gigs.
You don’t need to be a fan of Live Albums to enjoy this album. This album is a wonderfully diverse collection of different sounds from the Stoner Metal underground scene.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage for the promo.
Live AT The Hallowed Halls is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.
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