Hiems – Worship Or Die (2009)

Hiems (winter in Latin) hails from Italy and it’s a one man band side-project from Algol the bassist of Forgotten Tomb, one of the most boring Black Metal band’s that I’ve heard.

“Worship Or Die” is an overall improvement of the music created by Forgotten Tomb, but is still pretty tame in comparison to other Black Metal releases. The whole album feels very slow except for the occasional  bursts of speed that are infused here and there, probably for the listener to not fall asleep.

My main reason for not liking this album is that I think that Doom and Black Metal should not mix in this way, since you can clearly hear the Candlemass influences in the music, but feels weird with the harsh vocals. The whole album features interesting riffs and some good ideas here and there; however they all get drowned in the overall sludgy feeling of the album.

While I can say that I like Hiems more than Forgotten Tomb, I still think wouldn’t recommend this album if you are looking for fast paced brutal Black Metal since you won’t find it here. However if you are looking for something slower more Black ‘n’ roll inspired, you will find this album very interesting and worth your money, but I will rather pass on this and get something else.

Release: June 30, 2009

Country: Italy