Receiving a hot copy of the new CLOVEN HOOF album was great news. Oops, it's not a full album but a 5-track EP. No prob; this release was put on hold for a couple of times, as far as I can recall, but finally is available for fans of this classic British Metal band to enjoy. Purchases are available here when more copies are pressed, as the first set disappeared to the blink of an eye, and fact is you should hurry if being a loyal fan of CLOVEN HOOF since the delay seems to have been worth the wait.

It's old news now that premier vocalist Russ North has parted ways with the Wolverhampton, England based outfit (still he was the one that initially recorded his parts for the songlist presented here, I think). I was quite skeptic thinking what kind of a singer would be capable of filling Russ's shoes. Well, newcomer Matt Moreton while distanced enough from North's epic high-pitched vibrato singing eventually sounds convincing; the tracklist helps this way, too, since the vast majority of song parts is more melodic even epic enough, requiring the minimum of sky high notes and relevant shrieks. In his field Matt is good, he has a warm classic British voice with enough pieces of fresh (not 'modern') vocal harmonies tied well with the past and present of a long-running outfit like CLOVEN HOOF (needless to say, bassist Lee Payne remains the only original member since their 1979 dawn) and can even sound filled with menace if needed.

The music itself will be weird enough in the first couple of auditions but ends up being rather splendid; that was CLOVEN HOOF's trademark value anyway, I guess. Far-off any seasonal rends, the tracks in "Throne Of Damnation" have virtually everything in hand. "Running Man" welcomes us to the progressive songwriting of Lee Payne; the spirit of RUSH, WISHBONE ASH, THIN LIZZY and IRON MAIDEN in one, in other words. This is a splendid lyrical cut creating voyaging/fugitive images in its diverse yet non-complex structure. The vocals follow this wavelength delivering the goods here, rest assured. "Whore Of Babylon" (originally featured in 2006's "Eye Of The Sun" comeback) shapes things up in favor of the band's more atmospheric/historical side; I recalled Irish classic hardrockers STORMZONE's newest second CD style here, by the way. The basic riff is of total approval and the singing style of Moreton also fits like a glove, no questions asked, while the solo/dual leads work done here is harmonic and bouncing as it can be.

"Freak Show"welcomes the listener with a lunar acoustic guitar intro, shortly after to be transformed to a ballad-type cut with chorus outbursts creating a weird number that brought to mind images of a variety of bands from late JUDAS PRIEST to mid-career ICED DEARTH. A peculiar song, surely said. "Prime Time"is just one scale below the opener's quality, featuring some trenchant lyrics dressing a hardorckin' melodic NWOBHM-inspired song with striking leads works and some warm vocals. "Night Stalker" wraps up the EP and is a remake of the 1984 number, originally featured in the band's full-length same-titled debut, and sees a more savage sound with equally mean vocals by Moreton.

The sound of this EP is what the traditional Metal follower who still keeps himself occupied with new releases shall digest: pounding yet full of space to let the listener swallow melodies, hooks and bridges all the way. CLOVEN HOOF's career has shown the band always bears an uncompromising profile, honoring their inspirations and geographical whereabouts in favor of Metal music's quality perseverance. In the far far future, when this 'x' band will bring you that 'y' certain era to mind it'll be bands like CLOVEN HOOF boasting a celebrated time-independent virtue.