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Black Hawk: The End Of The World
Black Hawk - The End Of The World CD Album Review

Black Hawk: The End Of The World

Traditional Heavy/Power Metal
4.0/5.0

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Pure Underground Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 10.05.2017

With roots in and influences from the early Eighties New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWoBHM), Germany's Black Hawk had a limited run in those years. Their major success has come from a resurrection better than a decade ago. After a four year absence from the studio, Black Hawk returns with their fifth album, The End Of The World. Surprisingly, the band line up remains stable. Also, Hanjo Gehrke, last heard on 2010's Straight To Hell makes another guest appearance adding acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, and a guitar solo within Dancing With My Demons.

Black Hawk Photo

Black Hawk

Suffice to say with The End Of The World, Black Hawk sticks to their chosen musical path, delivering "keep it true" heavy metal. Their formula for success begins with the fundamental foundation of the same, then adds some speed for power metal from the sturdy and swift rhythm section. The same bass and drum duet also add essential groove to the speed and heaviness. On top of this is the twin guitar harmony in both riffs and solos, and solos are abundant as they should be with any "true" melodic heavy metal band. The vocal arrangements turn on Udo Bethke's clean and melodic, but somewhat nasal, vocal style with the assistance of harmonious backing gang vocals.

While most everything here is some combination of the aforementioned characteristics, that is classic heavy power metal, there some song exceptions to be mentioned. One is the song Legacy Of Rock, which as the name implies, sounds more like a heavy metal hardrock song with its underlying groove. When that groove gets going in a song, it makes the Black Hawk sound even more appealing as with Killing For Religion. While the speedy tempo preoccupies the album, Black Hawk dials things back with the more moderate paced Dancing With My Demons, another song delivering a strong rock groove, but also a catchy chorus. As something of a bonus track there's a new recording of Dragonride from the 2010 album of the same name, simply called Dragonride '17, which closes the album.

Bottom line: once more with The End Of The World, Germany's Black Hawk delivers a consistent and entertaining album of classic "keep it true" heavy metal in the best tradition. Recommended.



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The Bottom Line

With The End Of The World, Germany's Black Hawk delivers a consistent and entertaining album of classic "keep it true" heavy metal in the best tradition. Recommended.

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