Ελληνικά
Genre: N.W.O.B.H.M.
Country: U.K.
Label: Metal Nation Records
Year: 2018
All you loyal readers-friends of Metal Invader know very well how much we love Cloven Hoof (and especially Lee Payne)!!! A bunch of articles, tributes and interviews all over these years in order to cover the career of Midlands’ finest. New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement has an enormous entire catalogue of great studio albums, a huge one of live albums but it also has many many brilliant compilations as well. Following on from the first part, ‘The Definitive Part Two’ was previously only available on CD sold by the band at gigs. But unlike ‘The Definitive Part One’, this album does not feature re-recorded tracks, but compiles both previously released and unreleased songs. It features some rare and unreleased tracks recorded by Cloven Hoof in recent years, with different vocalists that has been associated with the band in the past. The first five tracks ‘Running Man’, ‘Prime Time’, ‘Night Stalker’, ‘Freakshow’ and ‘Whore Of Babylon’ are from the 2010 self-financed EP ‘The Throne Of Damnation’ with Matt Moreton on vocals. This EP was never printed on a large number of copies, and it was once again only sold by the band. ‘I’m Your Nemesis’ was previously only released as a music video with Ash Cooper on vocals. The next five tracks ‘Do What You Wilt’, ‘Age Of Steel’, ‘Look To The Sky’, ‘Curse Of The Gypsy’ and ‘Contagion’ (that was originally released as a digital-only single) are issued here having on vocals Joe Whelan (frontman on 2014’s weak ‘Resist or Serve’). To be honest I had downloaded back in 2010 -from one of this buzzilion blogspots that were sharing free music – the first five tracks on the EP, so it wasn’t new to me but it is always different when you have a physical copy on your hands! But the real deal is the brand new material. It may sound a bit more melodic or radio friendly but still this is another excellent anthems of pure N.W.O.B.H.M. with a hint of Power metal. All eleven tracks have a modern production and a 90’s aura (especially the guitar tone and distortion on ‘Throne of Damnation’ is shouting its 90’s approaching). The album has a variety of influences and mostly shows how the band had developed its sound and how (and even why) they ended up to George Call to be their singer before they offered us ‘Who Mourns For The Morning Star?’.
