Paul Hutchings takes a trip to the dark side and visits Hell Born!

Originally a side-project of ex-members of Behemoth and Damnation, Hell Born soon became its own vile creation. The band were in motion from 1996 with their eponymous debut EP, but it was between 2001 – 2008 when they fired out four full length releases that the Polish outfit really obtained traction. 2008’s Darkness wasn’t that well received and apart from a couple of split EPs, the Hell Born camp has been relatively quiet. Until now.

The earth shakes as the explosive first bars of When You Are God erupts from the speakers. Within seconds you know that the return of these masters of blackened death thrash will be one of triumph. The three-piece, Baal Ravenlock on bass/vocals, guitarist Les and newly acquired drummer Diabolizer are intent on delivering a brutal battery and over the 50 minutes of this album they do that, and then some.

Natas Liah drips with the blood of impaled Christians. Hell Born have never made a secret of their Satanic and anti-religious stance. This album is no exception and the raw, muscular assault which is barely contained within this record strains sinews, bursts blood vessels and excites in its sheer bitterness. A war rages and Hell Born intend to emerge victorious. Sandwiched between When You Are God and the closing punishment of Blakk Metal, seven tracks which vary in intensity, pace, and power. The slower doom drenched Ye Olde Woods Devil throbs with massive riffage, tempo switching from powerful crushing pace to more aggressive, thrashing styles. It’s a song that sums up the awesome power of a band whose long years of brooding watchfulness has clearly been summoned and subsequently unleased. The precision riffing of Uroboros and the bludgeoning delivery of The Butcher contrast massively yet sit comfortably alongside each other.

The fires of battle have been lit and Hell Born have clawed their blood covered fingers to the top and victory. Tight, confident, and drawing inspiration from their earlier works, Hell Born have released a bit of a monster. The album features guest contributions from Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski and had a sound perfectly honed by Haldor Grunberg (Behemoth, Blaze Of Perdition etc).

There’s nothing to criticise here. It’s a demonic blasting treat and an album that should have no difficulty in vying for a place amongst the best of 2021

Hell Born ‘Natas Liah’ is released via Odium Records on 26th January 2021