A couple of years have passed since BIBLE OF THE DEVIL’s lauded “Tight Empire” album, and somehow the brass-knuckle attack of the band seems even more Flying V-crazed, even more beer-soaked, and even more tenacious than it did on the aforementioned masterwork.

For the sake of the newcomer, BOTD are all about guitar harmonies the way that Bruce Dickinson is all about choruses. Every track is built around vast, epic guitar duels right out of the classic UFO, WISHBONE ASH, and THIN LIZZY camps. Mark Hoffman’s O-ring popping vocals add a granular edge that rings almost as uncompromising as the band’s name. “Cocaine Years, Cocaine Tears” is a cleaver weave of TANK-flavored NWOBHM and VAN HALEN joviality. “Warrior Fugue” blasts along with a delightful VENOM-playing-power-metal vibe, successfully rivaling some of the best guitar crunch from say, 1980-83. And speaking of VENOM-type matters, the gloriously titled “Sea of Rape” is a menacing two-part epic that moves through a “Revelations” wave-your-lighter sort of lullaby and into a Mustaine type of headbanging crunch carnival, complete with lots and lots of great guitar solos. It would be exceedingly tough to find a more magnificent blend of 70s guitar heroics and classic metal attack than “Brutality, Majesty, Eternity”, and if you haven't seen the live show, it's twice as potent. Great stuff.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.bibleofthedevil.com

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