HOD

You knew it was only a matter of time before someone launched an all-digital extreme metal label and Mike Riddick did just that with www.metalhit.com. That's right, metal written, recorded, and sent straight to cyberspace to download for a fee. One of the first three releases on the label is "Cry and Piss Yourself", a three-song offering from San Antonio, Texas' HOD. Featuring ex-members of THORNSPAWN, NECROVORE, EXULCERATE, PILLCRUSHER, and GG ALLIN, the title says it all: three sadistic tales of the twisted messianic kind that never end well for the victim set to a black/thrash soundtrack.

Razor-sharp guitars and vicious rhythms are the driving forces of these three songs, each distinctive and utterly devastating. "9 Days" describes the length of one young girl's journey to the end, as the riffs burn like hellfire and a sinister croak/vocal ensures that the listener is paying strict attention to the atrocities committed. "Demoralizer" is straight-up black-tinged thrash with an old-school, high-speed riff and more utterances from the one that describes himself as the "god of your personal Hell." Closing out the album is a six-and-half-minute cut called "God of Darkness and Winter" that is the most dynamic of the trio. Leaning toward the black metal side, the solo section backed with an airy riff is bone-chilling and ultimately turns into a quicker-tempo segment to close things out, while the morbid one exclaims "I am the god of darkness and winter, and your death will be my rebirth." Well adjusted? I think not.

"Cry and Piss Yourself" is only the beginning. The band recently signed to Ibex Moon Records. I'm looking forward to the full-length. Watch out!