Review by Felix on October 27, 2021.

Australia's wealthy underground resources are overwhelming. Hunters Moon appeared on the surface in 2009. Gifted with a solid portion of musicianship, they attacked with the here presented six tracks. Well, if one subtracts the intro, the outro and the cover version, three tracks remain and they constitute heart and soul of this output.

Hunters Moon, whose line-up consists of (ex-) members of Denouncement Pyre, combine battle lust, inexorability and a pinch of desperation. As soon as the music starts, a blood red dawn appears in front of the inner eye and nonchalance is just a distant memory. The waiver of high speed fosters the cruel element which is inherent in the system of Hunters Moon and the focus on a relatively small number of riffs leads to almost hypnotizing soundscapes. A slightly bitter taste comes up, while the duo, which gets support from a session drummer, draws the listener slowly but steadily deeper into the songs. In particular 'A Light In The Abyss', which seems to be heavily influenced by some mid-paced tracks of Immortal, and the title track, also equipped with a well-hung riff which has been imported from Blashyrkh, possess a high degree of negativity. The conjuring lead vocals complete the musical aura perfectly. This also goes for the third own regular track, which shows no signs of weakness as well.

No, the anti-religious artwork does not promise too much. The band has created a black, bubbling brew that leaves no room for hope or happiness. Unfortunately, the cover version of Angel Witch does not work. The Australian guys have made the wrong choice. "Baphomet" from the year 1978 may have lyrics that fit the concept of Hunters Moon, but its primitive line at the beginning, the uninspired chorus and the painfully outmoded solo serve as evidence that heavy metal was still in its infancy at the time of the original recording. On the positive side, this track does not hurt the profound blackness of the entire EP. It is just simply weaker than the remaining tracks.

The earthy, slightly filthy production makes clear that Hunters Moon did not have the intention to offer their material in a virtuoso manner. The more or less conventional song patterns confirm that the band members appreciate effective structures more than any kind of technical arrogance. Honestly, I like this mentality. Hence, I can recommend this disc with good conscience. Only these maniacs who think that "Transylvanian Hunger" lacked velocity will blame the here presented output for its lameness. Yet I guess this is only a small minority. However, too bad that the formation never released a successor. Fortunately, we can comfort ourselves with the fantastic albums of Denouncement Pyre.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Greg on April 13, 2023.

Heralded by yet another of Paolo Girardi's unmistakably bleak artworks, Inferno XXXIII is the latest LP by Italian ensemble Ulvedharr. Diving into it with no prior knowledge of the band, the listener is greeted by ~35 minutes of bombastic, hateful deathrash à la Legion Of The Damned and similar acts, before a tranquil, smooth outro rounds the whole thing off. Sounds like a pretty intense experience, doesn't it?

Well, it is, indeed. With a formula based on frontal aggression more than anything, Ulvedharr sure come across as angry enough to be convincing. Nothing for the ages, but songs like 'A Full Reload Of Fear', 'Revenge Loop' and my personal favourite 'Their Game' are distillates of pure, vitriolic rage, emphasized by the explosive production. Axemen Jack Draven and Magnus Frost offer a more than solid performance in the riffing department, and the frequent tempo changes no doubt escape the impression of a band playing it safe. Inferno XXXIII sure shows a trick or two to remain enjoyable enough despite not nearly reinventing the wheel, as a multifaceted track such as 'Wasteland', or the somewhat hard 'n' heavy leanings of 'Master Liar' and 'Eternal Attack', clearly underline. That's something I'd like to say for Ark's vocals as well, but unfortunately it's the total opposite. His coarse, hardcore-tinged yelling is a constant that permeates the album and knows no deviation nor (apparently) any necessity to catch breath, virtually never shutting up, except when the criminally scarce guitar solos show up. Advance single 'Dagon' suffers a bit from it, but I don't think directionless tracks like 'The Edge' and 'A New God' could have fared better with another man at the mic.

At its core, what Inferno XXXIII offers is simply hard to dislike, but at the same time it's a style that requires remarkable chops to be nailed successfully and to stand out from the pack. Ulvedharr are somewhat caught in the middle in this regard, bringing you a generous dose of riffs and testosterone that will suffice for a while, but lacking a bit in the memorability/lasting impression department, especially for a rather seasoned band which is now at their 5th major effort. In any case, if this is their physical limit, there's a lot worse around, and it's surely worth some spins from time to time.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10