◄◊► EUROPEAN METAL CHANNEL ◄◊►: DEATH PENALTY

She’s ridden to the Sabbath… She’s made love to the Devil… She is a witch!

Arising from the still warm ashes of UK doom legends Cathedral, Death Penalty is the newborn brainchild of lead guitarist extraordinaire Gaz Jennings. Enlisting the talents of former Serpentcult singer Michelle Nocon, current Serpentcult drummer Frederik Cosemans, and Torturerama’s and Bathsheba's bassist Raf Meukens, the Anglo-Belgian assembly is ready to conquer Europe. Hot on the heels of the ridiculously catchy 7” Sign Of Times, their self-titled debut promises a fiery explosion of doom & roll.

“When all is said and done, the art of making people bang their heads comes down to one central component: the riff.” That is the solid truth, son, but another essential ingredient for me is a voice. Michelle Nocon channels fire and brimstone from the depths of her guts, unleashing the sexiest, badassiest howl that makes Cherie Currie sound like a kitty cat…and with Gaz Jennings (Ex-Cathedral) by her side, you’ve got a recipe for some hellish fun.

With such a riff-machine at their helm it’s unsurprising that Death Penalty is bursting with excellent hooks. Besides instant earworms such as the Motörhead-esque “Immortal By Your Hand”, the band occasionally slows down to a menacing doom metal crawl. Rather than coming off as simply Cathedral with a female singer, Death Penalty are actively pursuing a sound of their own, with songs that feel tailored for Nocon’s haunting voice. Changing up the formula proves a winning strategy; crushing moments like “The One That Dwells” ring out eerily when paired with the remarkably infectious melodies of the fantastic closing number “Written By The Insane”. This constant interplay between the energetic and the hefty pays off; an hour feels like minutes when under the spell of Death Penalty.

The instrumental opener 'Grotesque Horizon' leads me to believe I have a full-blooded doom release in my hands but I couldn't be more wrong. Instead, when 'Howling At The The Throne Of Decadence' kicks in, I am treated to a fantastic mix of early Iron Maiden and Witchfinder General. It's fast, heavy and brilliant. Michelle is like a banshee moving back and forth between soft almost whispering singing to belting it out. Slightly slower but still an excellent heavy metal song, 'Eyes Of The Heretic' showcases a blistering solo from Gaz as the song picks up in pace. Switching to bonafide doom on the occult 'Golden Tides' the band is in your face with some fantastic work from Cosemans and Meukens. 'Into The Ivory Frost' continues in the path of 'Golden Tides' keeping things doomy and bleak. Beautiful!

Oh yeah! 'Children Of The Night' is a slow and punishing monster of a song. Mainly doomy in it's approach the latter half of it is hypnotic with an excellent guitar solo running through it. Bewitching, deranged and captivating, 'The One That Dwells' comes across like a seance before launching into a heavy-ass Mercyful Fate/Candlemass mode. Amazing folks, absolutely amazing! A slow, sinister and lurking riff-fest 'She's A Witch' is captivating and mesmerising until halfway through. Then the band kicks into higher gear and turns the song into a breathtaking neck-breaker only to slowdown at the end. Damn! Purest and finest form of heavy metal that you will ever hear. I'm talking about 'Immortal By Your Hand' and this is by far my favourite song on 'Death Penalty'. The whole band is on fire taking no prisoners at all. Michelle sings like she is possessed...amazing! The album ends with the beautifully 70's heavy rock inspired 'Written By The Insane'. There are some amazing Iommi riffs in the choruses while Gaz again pulls off a couple of blistering solos.

-DEATH PENALTY- (2014)

1. Grotesque Horizon

2. Howling at the Throne of Decadence

3. Eyes of the Heretic

4. Golden Tides

5. Into the Ivory Forest

6. Children of the Night

7. The One That Dwells

8. She Is a Witch

9. Immortal by Your Hand

10. Written by the Insane