Review Summary: No summary necessary.
It's been a turbulent time for America lately but have no fear because Pagan Hammer is here. Hailing from Sanford, North Carolina, Kurt Ailerson, the one man tour de force behind Pagan Hammer, has picked up the American flag, equipped his Kodiak bear cavalry with daedric armor and supersonic twin cannons and begun full sprinting to the metaphorical battlefield of doom with electromagnetic USA flag painted cannonballs being shot directly towards the draugr horde that lies ahead. The release that I will be covering from this band today is a 2008 three track EP called Ode to my Fathers.
In terms of sound, Pagan Hammer opt for a traditional and delicious baked apple pie approach. Production is gritty without sounding like some white rice gringo producing ***ty DSBM in his grandmother's basement. The droning atmosphere of the EP sounds akin to Forest's Like A Blaze Above Ashes but not quite as full or piercing. The songwriting doesn't offer much in variation as you will find no acoustic interludes, pan flute solos, space ambient synth darkness or haunting female vox here but for all these limitations Pagan Hammer have a lot to offer. The music heavily emphasizes on droning but catchy riff patterns, trem picks, one heroically George Washingtonian guitar solo, upbeat rhythms and a fixed tempo to compliment the musty, hoarse screams in the background that come off sounding neither weak nor obnoxious.
Once glance at the song-titles and you'll think Pagan Hammer is the Manowar of black metal. I couldn't blame you for thinking that with the triumphant Murican atmosphere permeating through the speakers and all. That and because one of the tracks here is called Die With Honor which incidentally is the most epic track here. You won't hear any moaning women or motorcycle soundbites but what you will hear is compelling unabashed riffitude gift wrapped in pride and defiance. This is as barebones and as orthodox as black metal can get but god damn does this rule. I, Balls To The Wall, hereby reccomend this album to all lovers of black metal, PBR and WWF lingerie matches.
