Released: 8th November 2019

Label: APF Records

Formats: CD / LP / DD / DSP

For anyone that knows Pist, you know what you’re going to get. Sludge metal riffs, fiendish vocals and above all, great music. To say that Hailz is a departure from their usual sound is true and false in equal measure.

There is ample material here that will keep fans of the bands happy, but there is plenty here to suggest that the band have the ability to conquer different realms of heavy metal as their career progresses.

Ex-Nihilo opens the album in pummelling fashion. Furious black metal stylings and vicious vocals make for an enthralling opening. Doomier breakdowns and gut churning guitars take the track home. It’s enough to feel worn out at the end of the opening salvo.

Wreck continues the breakneck pacing with the vocals again oozing with passion as they traverse between strained snarls and harshly sung lines. A mid track lull is bass driven before the hammers are out again to wallop you around the head!

Lead single, Mind Rotter, feels more orthodox for the band although they still through a little of the black metal into the simmering cauldron of noise. The stoner guitar vibes are superb as the drums are pounded within an inch of their lives.

Fools Give Chase keeps a lot of the elements of what has come before, but the addition of an excellent guitar solo in the middle is a real departure for the band as it’s slower in tempo and almost tender. A punkier ending blows any sense of serenity out of the water though.

Towering, monolithic guitars propel If I Was You… The rhythm section of the riff is hypnotic and amongst the foliage of the track, it stands out as a real highlight. Again, the band throw in their black metal penchant amongst the sound.

Elephant Tree feature on Strangle The Sun. A harmonious opening is backed by, if possible, an even bigger hulking guitar sound. The drumming here is slower but it is definitely more anthemic.

Skin Your God sees the band go full circle and get back to the rolling sludgy riffs. The vocals snarl; you can feel every word come out of the sounds like it’s being spat squarely into your face. A glorious guitar solo sees the album off into the sunset in epic fashion. This is a furious 35 minutes or so of an album that demands your attention.

Pist’s honesty and no messing around aesthetic is a joy to behold. They’ve grafted on the metal scene for a good few years, they’ve always put on a killer show, and they’re on a truly great independent label. Above all else, Hailz is devoted to the memory of a dear friend who committed suicide; it is a personal and passionate record that absolutely slays and pays tribute to their fallen friend, perfectly. Hailz.

You can catch Pist live over the next few months.

• 9th November 2019 – Album release show – The Bread Shed, Manchester w/ Bast, Video Nasties
• 19th March 2020 – Hammerfest – Great Yarmouth
• 20th March 2020 – The Dev – London
• 21st March 2020 – The Old Salutation Inn – Nottingham
• 6th June 2020 – Stonebaked Festival – Temple of Boom – Leeds

Pist: Website / Facebook / Twitter