Album Review - Huron : Mary Celeste (2011)

The second album from Plymouth’s metal maestros, Huron, will probably gain as many fans for the music it contains as it does lose potential listeners for the cover artwork alone, which is equal parts death-metal and pirate-metal. That perhaps filled me with slight dread as I began my listening experience (yes, a fairly close-minded approach), but I wasn’t disappointed by what I heard, which is a band with a sound that has a distinct groove, one that has drawn comparisons to Pantera, a comparison that shouldn’t be taken lightly by any group of musicians.  But for me, the band has a thicker and dirtier sound, which is a positive in terms of stepping away from such a looming shadow of comparison. It’s a sound which is much more similar to Phil Anselmo’s Down, who are a band that have the bare bones of Pantera’s groove but nothing like the raw aggression and energy that made Dimebag’s band legendary.

Anyway, I’m perhaps falling off topic, because this is Huron’s review and they are a unique band in their own right. They are a talented bunch of musicians who know how to write a thumping metal tune, and as the album begins with a slow pounding that with descends into a thunderous beast with ‘Branded’, I know I’m in for an intense ride. It’s a back-to-basics, no messing around kind of approach, which is both refreshing and easy to listen to. Title track ‘Mary Celeste’ picks up the pace and delivers something that is both aggressive and raw, and it’s a perfect song for the album to be named after.

Huron rarely let up after such an explosive introduction, and other highlights on this record include the ferocious ‘Disperse Or We Fire’, the vigorous ‘Blood In Blood Out’ and a track that showcases the musical talent of the band in a completely different way, with ‘Eternal Sea Part 1’. The latter song is a calm moment, which showcases the vocals and provides a soothing break from the onslaught, which continues once the track comes to an end.

The album is great, with a decent combination of clean and screamed vocals, some relentless riffing and a real eye for detail. It’s broken into two acts, which stops the music becoming repetitive and stagnant, allowing the songs to breath and exist in their own unique way. Brutal throughout (except for the one track), which will please fans of both modern metal and everything that has come before it, from Black Sabbath to Pantera and into the 21^st century. Huron are on the up and this album proves it.