Hemelbestormer - A Ring of Blue Light

Ah, it’s been quite some time that I do not hear an instrumental only effort. Better yet, it’s quite a while I do not hear a band instrumental play. The most I have ever heard were guitarist instrumental albums, which is very different because most of them are show off only. Kind of the ones the guitarist says “Hey, look how good I am!.” For sure it is not the case here. “A Ring of Blue Light” is a band effort. Songs were written to work as a band. It misses the main themes in songs. That’s the main difference. It is a song without lyrics. Some songs, though, have incidental voices.

There are six tracks in “A Ring of Blue Light.” Four of them are pretty long in the ten minute range. We notice that Hemelbestormer are a band that like to vary atmospheres and sounds. All six tracks are pretty different from each other. But which links them are the sludge atmosphere that perpasses all of them. There is mostly a 1990s feeling without main guitar riffs exception made for “The Serpent Bearer,” which has a strong and catchy guitar riff with a great deal of tempo and instrumental variations. In general, guitars are strong, low-tuned and chordly backed up by an also strong drum playing. Sometimes as in “Eight Billion Stars” we hear some high-tuned guitar phrases.

If we expand a little our feelings, Hemelbestormer built some Metallica’s intrumental moments as in some passages in “Eight Billion Stars” and “The Serpent Bearer.” I mean the great Metallica that used to write outstanding instrumental songs. A funny fact is that Hemelbestormer use smaller songs like “Clusters” and “Blue Light” as some kind of effects bridge to the longer ones. Pretty creative.

So my brothers in Metal, if you like band instrumental efforts, Hemelbestormer with “A Ring of Blue Light” is a very good tip.

Hemelbestormer “A Ring of Blue Light” will be seeing the blue light on March 2nd via Ván Records.

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