Teeth of the Hydra

Picking up on the gloomy, brooding aura of High On Fire circa Blessed Black Wings, Teeth of the Hydra attack with apocalyptic effort on Greenland. Utilising lumbering yet strangely articulate riffing and chunky rhythms delivered with strong accent on crashing cymbals and galloping drum fills, there’s an aura of danger around the effort that is decidedly tantalising. This is even more impacting when realising Teeth of the Hydra are clearly overtaken by overt inspiration from early Venom and their own bastardised rock’n’roll. (You can almost hear Cronos delivering the tormented spoken/agonised vocals.) The end result on Greenland is actually just as imposing as the influence it draws from and no less original thanks to its air of desperation and isolation. While the occasional song does tend to plod, it by no means slows down the overall impact. It’s as if the Sword found a Dr. K.L.A.W. to their Inspector Gadget.