What do you get when one of the loudest, nastiest bands to ride the first wave of punk/metal crossover with the English film “studio that dripped blood?” You get Warfare’s Hammer Horror. This unusual release is part concept album, part tribute, but is all good nasty gothic horror-metal fun. If you missed Warfare when they first came on the music scene in the mid-80’s, (not surprising as many outside Europe were not lucky enough to even hear of them, let alone listen to them) a quick tutorial is needed. Warfare could arguably be called one of the earliest bands to combine the crashing sounds of heavy metal with the nihilistic attitude of hard core punk. This obnoxiously loud trio hailed from Newcastle, England, the same area of the North as their label mates, Venom. Warfare’s sound can easily be approximated as a band playing in the middle of a battlefield who are so loud that artillery going off around them couldn’t be heard over the din this trio would dish up.

Part two of your primer is dedicated to Hammer Film Productions. Best known for their gothic horror films produced between the 1950’s and 70’s, Hammer Horror, as it became known, was an exceedingly popular studio, whose films, while modest in budget, would often appear much more lavish on screen. They pioneered the use of gore as color film became less expensive. Stars like Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin, Star Wars ep. IV) and Christopher Lee (Saruman, Lord of the Rings) were among the studio’s biggest stars. Enter Hammer Horror fanatic and Warfare drummer/vocalist, Evo, who crafted this 16 track scarefest in honor of Hammer Films which makes for a great scary listen any time of year.

Hammer Horror is not what you would typically expect to hear as an album from an in-your-face metal band like Warfare. As a genre album, it accomplishes its horrifying mission quite nicely. Originally only available in the US as an import, you can find it domestically on the Silva Screen record label at your more esoteric brick and mortars or from a well-stocked online outlet. This is to be played very loud, with the lights out, on a dark and stormy night.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2006 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.