Review Summary: Holocaust return from hiatus with something far heavier and more adventurous than their previous works.
Many a metal band has attempted to completely reinvent their sound, and many a time, these attempts have fallen completely flat. Megadeth's gradual decline from masterpieces like
Rust in Peace to the boring attempt at radio-friendly rock
Risk, and
Celtic Frost going from acclaimed early extreme metal albums like
To Mega Therion to the glammy turd
Cold Lake, are prime examples of metal bands attempting to soften their sound for a taste of that sweet commercial success. But sometimes, metal bands go in the opposite direction and evolve into something less commercial. For example, Pantera went from corny glam crap like
Metal Magic to the thrash influenced
Power Metal before solidifying the sound they'd be known for with their breakout release
Cowboys From Hell.
On The Sound of Souls, formerly NWOBHM group Holocaust takes the latter route, roaring back after a five-year hiatus with a highly Voivod influenced EP far heavier and more technical than their few previous releases. Listening to Cryin' Shame off their debut
The Nightcomers, there's no way you would anticipate from this band the hyperspeed riff that begins (well, after an echoey intro) the burst of full-speed aggression that is This Annihilation, or the nearly 12-minute progressive metal opus Three Ways to Die. And yet, that's just what they pulled off; John Mortimer's radical reinvention of the Holocaust sound is a resounding success.
So what works so well on this EP? Well, the biggest strong suit would be the songs themselves, which are all pretty good at worst and outright brilliant at best. An EP with just five songs runs the risk of being repetitive, with not enough tracks to establish a decent amount of variety. Fortunately, all five songs on here are quite distinct and smack the *** down in their own way. The thrashier cuts, This Annihilation and Dance into the Vortex, should whip anyone that likes their metal fast and hard into a frenzy, with the Kreator-tinged former track still managing to pack a shout-along chorus in spite of it being perhaps the most pissed off song on here, and the latter track locking into a sick rhythm in the chorus and launching into some cool Voivod-type *** about two and a half minutes in. Speaking of Voivod, I Smash the Void has this awesome, seemingly simple yet deceptively dissonant main riff that smacks of Piggy's influence, and combined with the memorable vocal melody, this song really worms its way into my head, even if the climax is a little disappointing. Curious, save the overlong intro, is an instrumental jam that goes into some very interesting places in its 3:46 runtime, from slow and heavy, to wandering and atmospheric, to technical and jerky, finally building up to a fast and intense tech-thrash climax. Last but definitely not least, Three Ways to Die...talk about a grand finale. In about 12 minutes, Holocaust manage to fit riffs, mood shifts, tempo changes, and time changes a-plenty into a behemoth of a song that doesn't feel like an underdeveloped hodgepodge, but rather a cohesive whole that's epic in scope.
The sound quality is kinda scratchy, but you can still hear what's going on, and it still sounds better than their previous LP
No Man's Land. Another aspect far improved on this release is Mortimer's vocal range; on that album, the first Holocaust album on which he sang, he was a less than stellar vocalist, to put things generously. Here, John does a great job and showcases some nice variety in terms of delivery. Most of the songs are delivered with a harsh but still tuneful style that's sometimes raspy and angry (This Annihilation), but other times snarling and Mustaine-esque (Dance into the Vortex). For the intro of Curious and almost all of Three Ways to Die, John implores a cleaner approach, well-befitting the solitude of the former track and the progressive tendencies of the latter. His varied vocals and gallery of riffs ranging from brutal to catchy to atmospheric to dissonant make him a force to be reckoned with here. While Graham Hall's bass could stand to be more audible, Steve Cowen's drumming matches the music well. Cowen's performance on this album shows a mix of acoustic and electronic drums, an unusual choice for a metal album, but I think they add to the cold, heavy, technical atmosphere this EP exudes.
A NWOBHM band dying out midway through the 80s only to be resurrected at the end of the decade with a progressive thrash metal tour de force drawing heavy influence from Voivod is certainly unexpected, but stranger things have happened. For example, said band could release the best work of their career up to that point, only for it to languish in obscurity. Overlooked or not, Holocaust's
The Sound of Souls ultimately goes to show the value in an artist being open to evolving one's sound based on up and coming influences. Beyond all that, it's some badass progressive thrash metal recommended to anyone who digs Voivod, Coroner, or their ilk.
