Hour of 13 – Salt the Dead: The Rare and Unreleased

Hour of 13 – Salt the Dead: The Rare and Unreleased.

Hour of 13 are one of those bands held in high reverence in underground circles and always create a stir when there is news of the band. Formed in 2006 and with a history that is less than straight forward, they are lead by multi-instrumentalist Chad Davis and released 3 well received full length  records before the band was put into suspension and was continued on under the guise of Night Magic.

At the tail end of 2016 it was announced that the beast had been roused from its slumber and with it this expansive collection of rare and alternate versions of tracks from previous releases. This is a heavy tome to get through with varying degrees of sound quality; some tracks are familiar such as “Call to Satan” and “Submissive to Evil” which are on the self-titled debut record.  Chad Davis also sings lead on a couple of tracks in place of Phil Swanson who has recently turned up in Sumerlands.

This collection is not a call to arms but more of a history lesson which gives some insight into the creative process that presented us with records like “The Ritualist” and “333”. The track that really lights the fire on this album is “Upon Black Wings we Die”, it has a driving riff  similar in feel to “Children of the Grave” a real banger, built to get the most belligerent head moving. This band take the tried and tested formulas of American Doom and old school metal and put their own mark on it which separates them from a lot of their peers, this is a very special animal and one that deserves to be embraced by the underground. Hour of 13 are a highly anticipated addition to this year’s Dublin Doom Day which has risen for a 2017 edition. This is a fine collection for the die hard fans and also as a gateway for those that like their metal raw.

Tracklisting 

1. Call to Satan
2. Submissive to Evil
3. The Correlation 05:46
4. Endurement to the Heirs of Shame
5. Grim Reality
6. Hex of Harm
7. Allowance of Sin
8. Missing Girl
9. Call to Satan
10. The Rites of Samhain
11. Upon Black Wings We Die
12. The Gathering / Call to Satan
13. Submissive to Evil
14. Grim Reality

Band Members:

Chad Davis (Multi – Instrumentalist)
Phil Swanson – Vocals
Ben Hogg – Vocals