HAIL SPIRIT NOIR

It was the sound of bongos that first alerted me to it, followed by the smell of weed and churches aflame. At first my eyes couldn't quite comprehend what my brain was telling me they were seeing but, sure enough, there they were; Jefferson Airplane going at it hammer and tongs with Venom. I wasn't sure who had instigated this most unusual transaction, or indeed if it was consensual, but the resulting offspring was destined to be an unusual child. Through the years the offspring, Christened 'Hail Spirit Noir, absorbed the recorded works of both parents until, at the absent of puberty, it rebelled and started taking in the works of Drudkh and other European 3rd wave BM bands. It was inevitable that Hail Spirit Noir would venture into creating its own music and, after a reasonable debut, it released unto the world 'Oi Magoi'. We didn't really know who 'Magoi' was; some posited it was a collective of Kings bound for the Holy Land, others that it was some mystic energy from the spirit world. It sounded like hippy talk to me, so I decided not to dwell on it. Still, the noises made on this album were enough for me to think back to that day, when two giants of music copulated, and thank the metal Gods that Hail Spirit Noir had been created. Sure enough, the sounds were a collage of the sixties psychedelic movement and elements of extreme and black metal. No one else seemed to be doing it. Perhaps there was a reason for that. But, for some of us, it seemed like our secret; a style only we'd become subjected to. It would comfort us when all around was awash with auto-tuned gibberish from whores and men in their forties out to get lucky. Real music was making a comeback, and it sounded glorious. We knew, of course, that once word got out everyone would want a piece of the action. But, for then, for that wonderful moment in time, this would be something only we knew. The metal Gods were smiling the day 'Oi Magoi' was released. This was the day the universe aligned, and the grand plan conceived in that sweaty back alley came to fruition. Not quite the Virgin Birth, but certainly a fucking good listen.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Code666

Album

OI MAGOI

Review by Steve Cowan

RUNNING TIME:

49:21

RELEASE DATE:

20th Jan 2014

TRACK LISTING

1) Blood Guru
2) Demon for a Day
3) Satan is Time
4) Satyriko Orgio (Satyrs' Orgy)
5) The Mermaid
6) Hunters
7) Oi Magoi

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Greece

"The metal Gods were smiling the day 'Oi Magoi' was released. This was the day the universe aligned, and the grand plan conceived in that sweaty back alley came to fruition. Not quite the Virgin Birth, but certainly a fucking good listen."