Halter - Another Strong Hand for a Damned Land

Halter is a death/doom band from Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia who formed in 2009.  Their latest release, “Another Strong Hand For a Damned Land,” is their fourth full-length album; they have also released an EP. 

This is my first experience with this band but I’m walking away completely crushed by one of the heaviest straight up death/doom albums I’ve heard in this second half of the year.  Although it obviously has a despondent atmosphere (it’s doom!) with a keen sense of melody when needed (although not necessarily a melodic album, per say), this is a more riff and rhythm-based take on the genre.

There are not long, atmospheric passages or minimalist ambience.  The album, thankfully, also lacks intros, outros, and pointless interludes which seem to plague music more and more these days.  This is seven complete, full songs that offer up death doom and then leave.  Nothing more, nothing less.  The runtime is just under forty minutes—the perfect time for this style.  There isn’t any fluff to “Another Strong Hand,” or time wasted.  With this album, Halter brings the purity of oblivion.   I like this approach.  Simple, effective, and definitely worthy of multiple listens. 

The production is very deep, fully absorbing the strong rhythms and vocals but also giving them plenty of room to work with.  Although it’s stupid intense, it isn’t cavernous or claustrophobic but instead just brutal.  This intensity is much appreciated because the riff-based structures sprawl slightly, hints of melody peppered through them to keep the songs interesting and with surprisingly decent hooks.

Just check out some of their more chugging riffs like in the opener “Holocaust Jackals.”  Doom doesn’t always have to be slow and it’s a good idea to open with a more death metal leaning approach as it grabs the ears early on.  The chorus is pure doom: massive riffs with deep growls that sound like they are clawing their way up from the dirt and stone.  

The band is very good at using the lead guitar to set the mood and compliment the atmosphere too.  “Strong Hand,” uses these leads effectively to bridge the gap between the brutal passages without getting too melodic.  The bass across the song is used effectively as well, a layer of void like intensity that could swallow the sun while also bolstering up the songs.  

This band knows how to keep the hooks going because they understand one important thing in death/doom: rhythm is king.  Even if you are moving slow, you must, well, move.  The opening riffs in “Wartime Paranoid,” starkly represent all this with guitars that had my head moving in about one second. The cadence of the vocal's pairs perfectly with the rhythm machine and create a song that is far more catchy than extreme metal usually is.  The bass after the halfway point rules the song, a backbone of pure guile that lets the slow riffs sink their teeth into the atmosphere before chugging along once more. 

“Parable of the Rapist,” is the longest song on the album, a seven minute closer that lets the band pull out all the stops and offer themselves up at their most dynamic.  It opens with a massive melodic passage a bass drops send the guitars down into the depths of darkness.  The vocals are extra punchy here.  The guitar solo around the 2:35 mark is really well done, taking some of the melodic in the beginning and stretching over the bleak expanse before another huge bass drops brings back the riffs. 

Halter’s “Another Strong Hand for a Damned Land,” is a death/doom album without much in the way with bells and whistles.  Sometimes, that’s all I want to hear and it does get tiresome with so many bands going balls out and including everything and the kitchen sink.  This album just uses hammers and nails to get their point across and it's all the better for it.

Rating: Solid