DEAD MAN’S HAND, Dead Man’s Hand  (2006, demo)

The skull:
Razor…brass knuckles…bullet hole through forehead…fiery noggin. Maybe I’m just getting desensitized to all this, but this is a lame cover. This sort of tattoo-ready Black Label Society-meets-hardcore sort of imagery is BEAT, people. Stop using it. It certainly doesn’t get me excited to hear the music which, after 266 skulls, we can’t expect to be life-changing, can we? Forgive me if I appear cynical…

The music:
Golly…wouldn’t you know it? This is no good. Technically, it’s well-played. There is no sloppiness here. They are very aggressive. They would appeal to people who cannot get enough of Slaughter of the Soul filtered through lazier musicians who don’t care a thing for nuance or subtlety of any kind. It’s like this band thinks Carnal Forge and The Haunted are the BEST BANDS EVER. I love Slaughter of the Soul, but I’m as tired of the endless iterations on that theme as you are, and I cannot take any more watered-down cloning of that sound. So ends one of the most useless entries into the halls of the Big Dumb Skull as there ever was. Goodbye.
— Friar Wagner