Lucifer's Hammer - Be And Exist - CD

Since their formation in 2012, Chile’s LUCIFER’S HAMMER have been fighting the good fight for heavy metal, both at home and abroad. During their first years, the homeland wasn’t as renown for traditional metals, but ever since their ascent to the international stage, LUCIFER’S HAMMER have wielded a wealth of influence on the wider Chilean heavy metal scene. Their Night Sacrifice demo in 2013 was their first public work, but it was the full-length Beyond the Omens debut in 2016 which really blew the doors open, reaping widespread acclaim and firmly establishing their trademark sound: pure & proud HEAVY METAL equally rooted in the ‘70s and ‘80s, with an air of anthemic memorability ala classic radio metal but never forgetting their underground roots. LUCIFER’S HAMMER really expanded upon that radio angle with the subsequent Victory is Mine mini-album a year later, showing darkness and versatility in equal measure. They further consolidated this sound with two more full-lengths, 2018’s Time is Death and 2021’s The Trip.

Now, longtime fans DYING VICTIMS step forth to raise high the banner of LUCIFER’S HAMMER with their fourth album, Be and Exist. The title is something of a clarion call for the Chileans: staying put in the ‘80s for years now, the band simply want to continue crafting true-as-steel HEAVY METAL that bangs the head as profoundly as it enflames the heart. Like an iron fist lined with velvet, there’s a deceptively silky surge to Be and Exist that drives deepest into the heart of mid ‘80s metal, all the while pumping pistons patiently and powerfully. With leads moody and emotive and founding frontman / guitarist Hades’ vocals ringing out through the night, across rain-soaked streets and through the back alleys, LUCIFER’S HAMMER here deliver a masterclass in mystery & atmosphere. The album’s attention-grabbing cover art vividly illustrates the point, but the band are certainly tackling more cosmic matters here, and it fits perfectly with the classy classic metal across Be and Exist. At any one point, one can detect the likes of prime Dokken, Heavy Pettin’, Diamond Head, Europe, Witch Cross, Virgin Steele, and even ‘80s KISS at their most metal – but the way these noble influences are rearranged and reformed into anthems is 100% LUCIFER’S HAMMER.

Indeed are LUCIFER’S HAMMER a band with a vision of the future, treading the metal boards for over a decade now with pure passion and hunger. Life doesn’t come easy in South America, and so have they made their music the ideal stage where the hammer will fall with force to demonstrate all that’s in their hearts. To Be an Exist – this is what heavy metal dreams are made of!