Album Review: THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN (2004)

 This is it undead fiends... month 2 of my SEND MORE PARAMEDICS reviews and we are onto the album that cemented the band firmly into peoples minds. To many it was the album that brought them forward to a wider audience and due to the anthemic nature of some of the tracks got them on the bill with US touring bands THE OFFSPRING and AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the UK/European legs of their tours. Without further ado I bring you the mighty...

THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN (2004)

1. The Hallowed (0:53)

2. Bokor (2:03)

3. Driven To Destruction (2:35)

4. Desert Of Skulls (3:50)

5. Zombie Crew (3:46)

6. No Fucking Joke (2:52)

7. Half Life (2:56)

8. I Can Feel Myself Rotting (0:29)

9. Burning The Body (3:30)

10. A Necklace Made Of Teeth (3:33)

11. The Time Before I Turn (4:07)

12. Cranial Blowout (1:56)

13. Easy Meat (3:20)

14. The Heathen (1:05)

Released on IN AT THE DEEP END RECORDS in February 2004. THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN begins and ends with haunting instrumentals, the tracks inbetween being the familiar fast and furious fare we enjoyed so much from A FEAST FOR THE FALLEN (2002) only this time just that little bit more refined. They have always been tighter than a gnats chuff in regards to timing but with this album it is even more noticeable. The vocals are more prominent and really showcase B'Hellmouth's unique style and clever pronunciations. The impressive large sound of the band never ceases to amaze with them always sounding bigger than the four piece that they are. With this album there is no let up with monstrous tune after monstrous tune ripping right through you with their signature blend of Thrash metal interspersed with some great Punk elements. Each track increasing in power often lapsing into a booming anthemic chorus with dramatic effect. Broken up by only one mini track lasting about 30 seconds, the agonising "I Can Feel Myself Rotting" (trk 8). Of course, the zombie theme is still a very strong factor but it pulls less from the movies with the use of only one sample on the whole album but this by no means lessens the impact of the songs.  They once again come at the zombie element from all angles starting with voodoo on track 1 "Bokor" ("I, Bokor, dealer of death, the zombi will rise at my behest"). Their fantastic way of describing the feelings of turning and being turned in "Driven To Destruction" (trk 3), "Desert Of Skulls" (trk 4), "The Time Before I Turn" (Trk 11) and "Easy Meat" (trk 13) to name but a few. A couple of the other tracks go the other way and become a celebration of zombification with "Zombie Crew" (trk 5) being most prominent. It is probably safe to say this is one of their more well known songs. Even if you are just a casual SMP interloper it is guaranteed you will be singing "Back from the dead, goin' to the show, I can't feel my pulse but I'm still gonna go" with everyone else when the song starts, especially at a live show! Not to mention chants of "Zombie Crew" when required. Another catchy, shouty number is the only track to incorporate a movie sample and entitled "Burning The Body" (trk 9). The line "On the freeway drivers panic, zombies stumble through the traffic, scent of brain meat makes them manic" is not only a brilliant lyric but based on the final scene in ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS 2 when the zombies (reanimated by burning an infected corpse) are indeed found wandering through traffic on a bridge in New York. Later on in the album they mix it up a bit and end up going down the sinister, grimy route of "A Necklace Made Of Teeth" (trk 10) another voodoo-esque offering which for a long time was one of my least favourite tracks of theirs but is now only just starting to grow on me. I wouldn't say it was different to the others but it's just a bit odd... I suppose you could say it's a "slow burn" of a track, very deliberate and a bit disorientating but it does have a killer catchy riff! 

THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN is a really well produced and accomplished album, it is no wonder the band got the recognition they deserved from this. The artwork is dark and down played with a graphic novel hint to it and I love their statement after the thanks on the CD sleeve which simply states "No flowers please, visit the book of condolence" and directs you to their website which is a great touch. This album was how I discovered SEND MORE PARAMEDICS back in late 2004 and this was the only thing I listened to for a good 3 weeks until I had gotten my hands their other stuff! I love all of their material but THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN will always be my go to album. It has absolutely everything you ever need in an album and still holds up so well 17 years later! If you haven't already you need to check it out right now!!

After the success of THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN they hit the road supporting some big bands as mentioned earlier, not only that though, they were headlining their own tours around the UK and ripping festival goers a new one at Download, Damnation and the Reading/Leeds festivals up and down the country over the next few years. Still finding time to lay down some new tracks for a couple of split EPs.

NORTH OF ENGLAND. SOUTH OF HEAVEN (2005)

Split EP THE NOTHING/SEND MORE PARAMEDICS.

1. Misery (4:30) THE NOTHING

2. The Seven Daggers (4:12) THE NOTHING

3. Heavy Metal Cowboy (4:21) SMP

4. 245 Trioxin (2:29) SMP

Released by THIRTY DAYS OF NIGHT RECORDS in April 2005. THE NOTHING were a side project involving El Diablo and X. Undead from SMP and with the label being run by the vocalist from THE NOTHING (Ex LabRat) Jamie Farrell they figured it would be great promotion for all involved to do a split EP together. Real short at only 4 tracks long... 2 tracks by each band but it is a great showcase for both parties. THE NOTHING being a horror based Hardcore/Thrash band themselves featuring samples from THE OMEN on their tracks. The SEND MORE PARAMEDICS tracks are essentially new, you may recognise "245 Trioxin" from the early days of their first demo but here it has been re-vamped  and re-recorded in all its RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD glory. Their other track, "Heavy Metal Cowboy" is actually one of my favourite songs of theirs EVER! Perhaps it's because of the incredible pace it goes at or the line "Time to rock'n'roll, watch another skull explode" or even because it kind of reminds me of FULL METAL JACKET, it's just a brilliant song. I remember squeezing my way to the front at one of their gigs and shouting at them to play it only to be told by B'Hellmouth that they don't play it live (sigh), this was a shame but I appreciated the acknowledgement. The moral of this story is buy this EP as it will be the only chance you get to hear this song, haha!!

Anyway, the band were on a roll and a few months after the split EP with THE NOTHING came...

TALES TOLD BY DEAD MEN (2005)

Split EP ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE/SEND MORE PARAMEDICS 

1. Just Meat (0:48)

2. God, I Hope The Data Is Lying (1:05)

3. Breaking Off Fingers (2:59)

4. Murder Be A Lady Tonight (1:29)

5. Tale Told By A Dead Man (4:48)

6. Intermission Of The Dead (0:21)

7. From The Void (2:52)

8. Zombie Versus Shark (2:24)

9. Funeral (1:50)

10. Nothing Tastes Like This (3:23)

11. This Is The Place Of Wailing And The Gnashing Of Teeth (2:43)

Released in July 2005 through IN AT THE DEEP END RECORDS/HELLBENT RECORDS this is a match made in heaven as ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE seem, to me, to be SMP's American counterparts. 5 new tracks from each band,  ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE take the first 5. With their similar hardcore crossover style ZA pave the way with some great tracks, my favourites being the short but riotous "Just Meat" (trk 1) and the fantastic "Tale Told By A Dead Man" (trk 5). After a brief intermission SEND MORE PARAMEDICS 5 offerings are presented to us, and what a glorious aural assault it is! Hitting us right between the eyes with "From The Void" (trk 7) then going straight into the epic "Zombie Versus Shark" (trk 8) which is another huge fan favourite and a fantastic tribute to THAT scene in ZOMBI 2.  Trust me, you will always have this song in your head every time you rewatch that movie. The last 3 tracks are SMP at their finest and proves to many that even after 2 full albums and now 2 split EPs that the zombiecore plague is spreading and showing no signs of slowing down!!

Mash's Top Tracks:-

THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN

(In no particular order (as this would be an impossible task!))

* Burning The Body (trk 9)

* Zombie Crew (trk 5)

* Desert Of Skulls (trk 4)

NORTH OF ENGLAND

* Heavy Metal Cowboy (trk 4)

TALES TOLD BY DEAD MEN

* Zombie Versus Shark (trk 8)

THE HALLOWED AND THE HEATHEN and TALES TOLD BY DEAD MEN are available to purchase at www.iatde.com through their store.

Huge thanks again goes out to Dan Phillips, xNoizex, Matt Andrews, xSheepx and Paul Yeadon for permission to use their photos and additional information.