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Dead Man’s Hill

Dead Man’s Hill * Spirits (cd 2010)

Dead Man’s Hill has an impressive discography, but I do not have all that much material of them. The In Slaughter Natives-like sound mixed with more bombastic martial elements sometimes works out very well, but often not all that much. Besides, DMH tends to keep sounding the same all the time and the same goes for “Spirits”. Pompous, orchestrated industrial with highly distorted vocals is what you expect and also what you get. The music is alright, but this album does not seem to have any real peaks. When you like DMH, you will like the new album and you know what to expect.
Links: Dead Man’s Hill, Steinklang Industries

NDE * Krieg Blut Ehre Asche (cd 2009)

Yet another project of Dead Man’s Hill, Alle Sagen Ja, Eisengrau, etc. NDE makes a mix between black metal, martial industrial, bombastic orchestrations and noise. The result is a heavy pompous sound with distorted screamed vocals and raging guitars. Quite extreme, quite original, not alway quite good. There are some nice orchestral noisy tracks, but as soon as the guitars set in, I loose my interest. I think this album will appeal to people who like the later sound of Karjalan Sissit with the noisy orchestrations and screamed vocals, but then with guitars added.
Links: NDE, Cold Spring

Dead Man’s Hill * Songs From The Forthcoming Apocalypse (2008)

Songs For The Forthcoming ApocalypseHowever I have known this Belgian project since the early days, I never really followed him. When Dead Man’s Hill was still new, I saw him live a few times. I heard some of the releases, but was not interested enough to buy them besides two split releases. Interested in what DMH would sound like nowadays, I got myself this cd. The sound is still more or less the same: slow and pompous industrial with slow beats and orchestrations. The sound reminds quite a bit of In Slaughter Natives here and there, but especially the weird (and rather irritating sometimes) vocal effects and the use of guitars (sometimes it is almost metal) give DMH a sound of his own. Some tracks are alright, but most are not all that good in my opinion.
Links: Dead Man’s Hill, Midnight Productions

H.E.R.R./The Days Of The Trumpet Call/Dead Man’s Hill/Von Thronstahl * Carpe Noctem Festival I – Sturmgewitter Ziegn Durchs Land (cd 2005 carpe noctem)

At the end of the summer of 2004 I heard that Von Thronstahl would give a show in Belgium. You don’t get the change to see this bands very often, so I went to a small village near Brussel. There wasn’t a very big audience, but the show that the gentlemen gave was superb. Other bands were the allied Trumpet Call and two bands that I have seen a few times more around the same time. Both HERR and Dead Man’s Hill seemed alright to me live. Not too original in sound and of an average quality. DMH tries to draw attention by shocking people with their shows (which sometimes works).
Accidentally I heard about this split cd that is of course a result of the show of 4 september 2004. “Sturmgewitter…” fortunately doesn’t contain live material recorded that night though. Each band contributed a few exclusive tracks (or at least exclusive in this form). Since Von Thronstahl always has my interest and The Trumpet Call gave a great show, this was a good opportunity to listen to studio material of the other two bands. The cd opens with three odes to Constantinopel (nowadays Instanbul in Turkey) by HERR. Three very nice to great orchestral tracks! Then follow two tracks by The Trumpet Call which are also very nice. Dead Man’s Hill (three tracks) is less interesting. Their first track is a very dark industrial but rather monotous track and the last one is better and more bombastic track, but their second track doesn’t sound good to me at all. The last band is of course Von Thronstahl, new versions of “Wider Die Masse” and “Bellum Sacrum Bellum” with guitar and in the second case new samples of America’s sacred war. A nice split cd of which especially HERR positively surprised me. <15/6/05><3>