Review by Jophelerx on June 11, 2024.

Cloven Hoof have had a strange and varied career that technically began with 1982's The Opening Ritual EP, but like many NWOBHM releases of the time, it failed to make much of an impact on the scene. Their follow-up, the 1984 self-titled full-length, however, has become at least a minor classic of the genre, and while it failed to elevate them to the levels of a Diamond Head or Angel Witch, it has garnered quite the following over the years. "Nightstalker" even appeared in the video game Brutal Legend in 2009 alongside a variety of other deep cuts from the days of early heavy and power metal. The band went on to produce the 80s power metal classics Dominator and A Sultan's Ransom, before breaking up in 1990 and then reforming and releasing several more albums in the 2000s of various style and quality, with frequent lineup changes but always featuring founding member and bassist Lee Payne. This is really where it all started, though, and is really the only traditionally "NWOBHM" full-length the band would release. The last album to feature vocalist David Potter and the second-to-last to feature guitarist Steve Rounds and drummer Kevin Pountney (whose last outing would be the 1986 live album Fighting Back), this album provides a unique atmosphere and showcases this iteration of the band quite nicely.

A rough-and-ready occult metal assault, this album plays to the strengths of vocalist David Potter, whose gruff, masculine roars are a highlight of the record. Nothing provides a better example of this than opener "Cloven Hoof," which is a bold anti-religious statement in the vein of NWOBHM anthems like Diamond's Head "Am I Evil?" and Iron Maiden's "Number Of The Beast," as well as emerging "black metal" band Mercyful Fate, who by this point had already released their 1983 classic "Melissa". Cloven Hoof were hardly unique in their decision to include anti-religious or demonic imagery, but they did so in a way that incorporated seamlessly into their sound and was more brash and aggressive than a lot of the other metal from this era. The opening lines 'The house of god has been violated!' and 'Cross upturned, altar desecrated' plunge the listener into unrepentant evil from the very beginning, with David Potter leading this headstrong descent into the depths of hell. This is definitely the choicest cut on the album, replete with catchy riffs; slower, atmospheric sections; tempo changes; and of course the iconic NWOBHM dual guitar harmonies. Everything has a chance to shine in this multi-part epic, and while it's a great way to start the album, it does leave me a bit disappointed that nothing quite lives up to it afterwards.

Still, the rest of the album is nothing to sneeze at, generally staying on the more simple, hard-rock influenced side of things, but it does this very well, Potter's inimitable cockney battle cries battering down everything in their way and possessive of a unique charm and enthusiasm that manages to keep me engaged whether he's screaming about Satan or delivering gang shouts about cracking the whip or laying down the law. "Nightstalker" is mostly a pretty standard rocker but does have an interesting guitar solo that goes into more of the dark esoterica of the title track. This is a bit jarring but still quite enjoyable overall, showing that the band is willing to experiment and giving it a bit of that early, adventurous NWOBHM charm where the rules weren't clearly established and bands were trying out anything they could think of. By '84 this era was certainly on the downswing, but Cloven Hoof is still planted firmly in this early iteration of the movement, perhaps one of the last albums of its kind but none the worse for being so. Instrumental "March of the Damned" plods slowly and ominously along to build up to the album's second epic, "The Gates of Gehenna," which starts off with a galloping, triumphant verse that transitions into a darker, more chaotic jam section a bit brusquely, but does manage to cram a lot of interesting ideas into it's five-and-a-half minute runtime, feeling akin to the title track but a bit more rushed and mashed together (still great though!). It does feature one of Potter's absolute best performances, with his energy and vicious barbarism cranked all the way up to eleven, and the whole thing just rushing through like an epic metal whirlwind.

"Crack the Whip" is the only song here that I don't think really holds up too well, pushing a bit too far into the commercial rock side of things, essentially eschewing the band's metallic elements in favor of dumb, sub-AC/DC riffs and poppy vocal lines that don't really work well with Potter's gruff delivery. This one is better off skipped in my opinion, but things get back on track with "Laying Down the Law," which returns to the rockin' NWOBHM of "Nightstalker," and might be even catchier, with infectious verses and an even more contagiously singable chorus - seriously, I dare you to get through it without being tempted to belt out "I'M LAYING DOWN, I'M LAYING DOWN THE LAW!" The guitar solo is also phenomenal, feeling more like a natural progression of the song's main melodies in a way that feels more though-out and cohesive than some of the other tracks on the album, but still keeps things fun and fresh without overstaying its welcome. Finally, we have epic number three and album closer "Return of the Passover" - though I'm also going to talk about "Road of Eagles," a bonus track, whose original version with Potter never appeared on any other releases.

Anyway, "Return of the Passover" has a brilliantly spooky and unsettling intro that does drag on a bit longer than I'd prefer, but still builds a nice atmosphere. Then the main riff comes in and it's absolutely earth-shattering, feeling like Thor himself sending his hammer down alongside Potter's utterly commanding delivery. While I do think some parts of this track could be trimmed down, at its peak it rivals the best anthems of Manowar or Manilla Road, with some of the riffs so slow and crushing they border on doomy, cementing the band as one of the heaviest to come out of the NWOBHM and worthy of being mentioned as an example of early epic metal alongside American greats like Brocas Helm and Cirith Ungol. These four guys definitely had something special, although it would never truly be followed upon, as force of nature David Potter would leave shortly after, and Fighting Back would be the sole album to feature Rob Kendrick, who was fairly forgettable in the scheme of things.

"Road of Eagles," though, appears in later additions of the album alongside demo versions of "Laying Down the Law" and "Crack the Whip." While the latter two don't really add anything, "Road of Eagles" is a fantastic epic which would be re-recorded with the unforgettable pipes of Russ North on 1988's Dominator. While I do prefer that version, this earlier recording is quite an interesting relic, showcasing Potter's talents one more time and showing the bones of a powerful anthem, if one that was clearly unpolished and never made ready for the final album release, as the mix is a bit poor and the parts sometimes feel cobbled together. Still, it's an enjoyable inclusion to this album and feels like it belongs, helping to make the album's runtime a bit more substantial, as the original clocked in under 40 minutes and only had 6 full songs. Any version of this album is worth listening to, though, and it stands as a proud testament to David Potter, Kevin Pourtney, and Steve Rounds, whose talents never graced another metal band and never appeared on another great Cloven Hoof album. While the band's late 80s power metal albums are great in their own right, this is the band's NWOBHM classic and deserves to be remembered among the greats of the genre.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10