CoC : Devils Whorehouse - Blood & Ashes : Review

Devils Whorehouse - _Blood & Ashes_
(Regain Records, 2009)
by: Jackie Smit (7.5 out of 10)

Nicking both their moniker and their musical raison d'être directly from the storied discography of Glen Danzig, Devils Whorehouse could easily have ended up being a proverbial mustard burp, stinking up its surrounds for a few fleeting moments before evaporating like a fart in the wind. Yet under the watchful tutelage of Morgan Steinmeyer-Håkansson, known for his God-baiting antics in Marduk, the band are three albums strong and _Blood & Ashes_ shows no sign of them going anywhere anytime soon. Granted it remains a vividly calculated tribute, but ignore your impulse to slate them for a lack of originality and you'll find much to enjoy about this disc, not least of all the ominous paean to all things dark and dastardly that is "Oceans Turn to Blood". The production has a distinctly _Danzig I_-esque lo-fi feel to it, and new man behind the mic, Maelstrom, is the proud owner of a set of pipes to rival the Evil Elvis himself. Still, it's riff after monstrous riff that makes this album so shamelessly enjoyable, along with the sort of rousing choruses that most any heavy metal practitioner would be proud to call their own creation. At the very least _Blood & Ashes_ provides a superb stopgap as Glen's disciples wait with bated breath for him to get his ass in gear and deliver another album.

Contact: http://www.myspace.com/truedevils

(article published 3/9/2009)