Metallers Pist from Bury, Lancashire are back with another offering of heavy riffs to listen to while drinking beer. This is not a folk metal album, though, and multiple influences from punk to black metal can be heard on each of the songs. The album Hailz was released on the 8th of November via APF Records and can be found on the usual channels. As customary with this label, it’s yet another great album.
While the opening track “Ex-Nihilo” begins with the kind of sound that you’d expect from Pist, it quickly throws you off guard with black metal style guitars. Of all the new styles and influences found in this new Pist album, the black metal guitars are probably what stands out the most.
The band chose the third track “Mind Rotter” as the first single because they consider it a good representation of their new sound which better reflects their personal influences than previous offerings. It really is a track that through its sections shows off those influences, almost like a cohesive medley of songs, with a little bit of desert rock, groovy hard rock, punk, black metal and everything in between.
The track “Strangle the Sun” is the ballad of the album, featuring some clean guitars and soft singing that show that singer Dave Rowlands has more to offer than raspy vocals. Still, this wouldn’t be a Pist song without some headbanging thrown in for good measure. It’s a great lead up to the last track “Skin Your God”, which closes the album with some nice riffs that are sure to please the crowds at gigs and get some heads moving while the air guitars come out.
Overall this album has a darker tone compared to previous ones, all while still maintaining that sound that Pist are known for. It’s a great album that I listened to over and over without getting tired of it, with the only fault I can put on it being the mix, which feels at times inconsistent and seems to drown out certain elements of songs. How music sounds obviously depends heavily on the kind of headphones or speakers being used, but I tried my usual Marshall Monitor headphones, and a few other earphones and speakers I had around the house, and I could never really get a sound I was 100% happy with. However, I’m sure that these tunes will sound pretty kick-ass when played live.
Hailz is now available on Bandcamp