Bradford has spawned some great bands over the years; from the mighty MY DYING BRIDE to the criminally overlooked LIZARD TONGUE, this city has given the world some of the best unsung bands in the Heavy Metal underground. Among these bands is a genuinely brilliant Doom band; a band that kicks so much arse that the band members probably find traces of people's bowels on their shoes the day after live shows. They have riffs and power in abundance, and who regularly lay waste to live venues across England and Wales. This band is GODS OF HELLFIRE, and finally, after seven years as a band, in which they've put out a demo and a brilliant EP, they've finally released their debut record, "Chronicles of Death". The band is made up of some of the most well known members of the local Metal scene, with some of the members having featured in bands such as LAZARUS BLACKSTAR, KHANG, ABIOSIS and BLOODSTREAM, and this combination of great musicians has led to some really great music. So, how does this album shape up alongside the rest of their back catalogue?

The straight forward answer is "very, very well". The first track, "Demon of The Fathomless", is a very strong opener, with powerful drums and thick, heavy riffs, all topped with Alec Calderbank's brilliant vocals. It sets the bar high for the rest of the record. Luckily, "Invictus" builds on this, with some incredibly groovy sounding guitar work from Rich and Paul. "Burning Asylum" is a dark and heavy dirge, centred around the chugging guitars which suit the lyrics perfectly, carrying the listener through the chaos and insanity that is implied in the title. "The Devil Rides Out", beginning on a sound bite from the titular film, is Doom Metal at its best; atmospheric, driven by riffs, and above all heavy. "Kraken Rising", the longest and best song on the record, opens with a punishing bass riff that, suitably, sounds like it is rising from the deep. There's a reason why this song has been opening a lot of the band's gigs recently; it builds tension and sounds awesome, and becomes a beast in itself by the end. "Devoured By Space" utilises a few guitar effects to great effect, and is much more mellow than the other tracks, but is nonetheless a really powerful song. "My Tortured Soul", the album's shortest song, acts as a nice and eerie acoustic interlude before the band launch into one of this album's crowning jewels; "The Punisher". This track is a full force riffer, combining crunching chords with some cool melodic guitar lines. The final song on the album, "Decimation", starts out slow, adding more elements and ideas as it goes, becoming faster and heavier as it goes, finishing on a really cool guitar solo, and then fading away.

This album is a really great first full length for this band. Unlike many bands, of any given genre, they've released their first album with a fully formed sound and aesthetic, and it's definitely been worth the wait. I would highly recommend this album if you like Doom Metal or straight up Heavy Metal. And I'd also suggest you check these guys out live. As someone who's seen them five times, I can tell you their stage show, as well as their music, never disappoints.