Black Hawk – Destination Hell

Black Hawk
Destination Hell
Pure Steel Records
March 13, 2020
46:02

From the provinces to the metropolis, this is how the almost forty-year history of Black Hawk could be described. Founded in 1981 at the gates of Hamburg (in Mölln), the musicians now have their domicile in Hamburg. None of the founding members are active at Black Hawk anymore. The first creative phase ended in 1997. (Source: Encyclopaedia Metallum) During this period only one EP and one demo were published. It was only after the reunion in 2001 that the musicians set out to produce full-length studio albums. In spring 2020 the seventh long-sleeved machine appeared. Because of Corona, that almost passed me by. Now I have dug up the sequel to “The End Of The World” again and put it on my “dissection table”.

From the first note is heard that the Hamburg play Teutonic Metal pure. Singer Udo Bethke has a voice with a high recognition value. He doesn’t shy away from high metal screams either. In addition, riffs are constantly fired. But the riff thunderstorm does not come, as the production is not as powerful as I am used to from the quartet. And this impression continues with the title song “Destination Hell”. Guitarist Wolfgang Tewes always blows out great solos. These then reconcile something. After all the high-speed metal, the metal anthem “Time” is usually a bit calmer. “Voices From The Dark” is almost Speed Metal. After the metal anthem “The Eye Of The Beast” and the straight-forward rocker “Speed Ride”, Black Hawk continue their tradition of bringing soulful ballads to their albums. “Bleeding Heart” is no exception and is an absolute highlight for me. Here you can even hear the singer in a duet with his wife Conny. The album ends with two other rock hits (“Under Horizon”, “Masters of Metal”).

Black Hawk will certainly not set new accents. They do what they do best. Handmade, no-frills heavy metal. And they do that quite well. The varied songwriting of “Destination Hell” offers a good basis for later sweaty live performances, if this is possible again. As is so often the case, the hymns and the ballad are my favorites. The album offers a lot of listening pleasure. Although I would definitely like a more powerful production.

Black Hawk – Time – Official Lyricvideo 2020: https://youtu.be/1AtQdIpsBpM

Lineup:

Wolfgang Tewes – Guitars
Udo Bethke – Vocals
Michael “Zottel” Wiekenberg – Bass
Matthias Meßfeldt – Drums

Label: Pure Steel Records

Out: March 13^th, 2020

Playing time: 46:02

Track list:

• Hate
• Destination Hell
• Smoking Guns
• Time
• Voices From The Dark
• The Eye Of The Beast
• Speed Ride
• Bleeding Heart
• Under Horizon
• Masters of Metal