Denner/Shermann
Satan’s Tomb
Metal Blade Records
Release Date: 2 October 2015
Review by Cameron Cooper
Heavy metal diehards will know Michael Denner and Hank Shermann as the dual-guitar assault of black metal revolutionaries Mercyful Fate. No longer together in Fate, the original twins of evil have teamed up with everybody’s favourite drummer Snowy Shaw, US Power Metal vocalist Sean Peck and bassman Marc Grabowski to deliver a new spin on old school satanic metal.
The album does what it says on the tin: piercing guitar harmonies, high-pitched vocals and kitch-Satanism abounds across the 20-odd minutes. Between hell rockin’ anthem War Witch and the doom-laden chorus of New Gods, the record functions just as well as a follow up to Don’t Break The Oath as it does on its own. Although the high end of Peck’s range is over utilised, made clear on Seven Skulls, the band is flawless musically. A super-charged dose of evil power metal to showcase what is (hopefully) to come.
