The Darkest Pinnacle of Light

Honey for Christ need to straighten some stuff out pronto. Honey for Christ self-describe a "Northern Ireland based pure heavy metal band." They sound nothing like "pure heavy metal." In fact, at times, they don't sound like heavy metal at all. Darkest Pinnacle of Light is their 2005 EP, perhaps their best known release even with a full length out in 2011. And so general good reception surrounds this release with almost all reviews I've read being very positive. Even if this was described as what it really is - Swedish melodeath with, at times, whiny, clean vocals and a melodramatic flair - I still wouldn't feel that The Darkest Pinnacle of Light deserves more than brief mentions, possible during a conversation rounding up bands that sound like Discouraged Ones era Katatonia. Normally, that would be awesome but Honey for Christ also sound like local Jersey alternative band Thursday at times, an accolade which no Metal band would want thrown around at them.

Though the first track, Satan and Swastika, rummages around in the big ole bin of Gothenburg influences, with opening riffs and style being very much an offspring of that scene, once the pure metal core verse riff hits, all I can think about it how I saw Beyond the Embrace open for Overkill once and how boring they were. If anything however, this opening track is the closest you'll find on this album to what Honey for Christ want themselves to be. It's not a bad song, but it's hardly exceptional. It's a pretty standard track in all aspects, with a predictable structure, little variation of riffs, little depth of arrangement and a lot of opportunity for it. When second track "The Final Transition" starts, I'm wondering if someone was forgotten. A brisk clean phrasing gives way to a distorted riff. The whole thing is then repeated with vocals over it. Three minutes into the track, we are granted an excellent mournful lead. This is followed with a blatant metalcore chorus with a mixture of clean vocals and background screams. It repeats. Song done.

"The Darkest Pinnacle of Light" is the fastest song on the release and I guess, by that standard, it's the most intense but it just sounds like so many bands I heard in high school that were trying to be Killswitch Engage or God Forbid or whatever. Honey for Christ may be better than sixty or seventy percent of them but that shouldn't be seen as a mark of excellence. Either way, the title track is an exercise in generic metal-core riffs. The verse is straight forward chugging with pull offs to add melody in the riffs. With the final two songs, we get "Sorrow Descending," which sounds like a cut off Discouraged Ones that wasn't good enough to was never finished. This is the best track on the release for me because it sounds much more honest and unique. It also much better suits the voice of guitarist and vocalist Andy. It may be a bit long for it's own good though with a run time of over eight minutes. The final track, "Signs of Bitterness" follows in the same vein as the earlier tracks on the release though with a much less metalcore vibe. Similar melodic tendencies, with melodramatic melodies and on and off again clean / heavy guitars. There are plenty of people out there that love this kind of stuff but it's not the "pure heavy metal" I was expecting to receive. Maybe something got lost in translation for me though.

Originally written for Contaminated Tones

Not having any expectations about an album before listening to it can work in your favor sometimes, and although I had heard the band name banded around in UK zines here and there, if someone asked me what style of metal they play, I would have had no idea. I was highly impressed by what Honey for Christ have come up with on this, their 2nd release. Coming from Ireland, I figured they'd sound somewhat Celtic, but with Metal Archives having their genre down as 'Heavy Metal', I really wasn't expecting what I heard.

The EP kicks off abruptly with a thrashy death metal riff, not too dissimilar to Bolt Thower with low tuned shredding guitars and blasting drums – not what I was expecting at all. However, the big surprise is when the vocals kick in, from the blasting intro I was expecting harsh death metal vocals, but no, clean vocals in the main with a few thick throaty roars here and there. I can hear comparisons to fellow countrymen Primordial in the music, as well as a big lean toward My Dying Bride on some of the more crooning vocal parts, and dual guitar-line harmonies. This is not to say they're ripping either band off, as Honey for Christ have definitely claimed a little niche for themselves with this EP. The thing that does it for me on this release I think is the vocals though, they're so emotion filled (again, similarly to the aforementioned Primordial), and could actually match Aaron of My Dying Bride for sorrow and angst (yes, and I'm not talking Kurt Cobain angst either). Plus on the few occasions when the vocalist Andy Clarke screams, he actually sounds like he's going to lose an eye.

Some of the riffs on display are also slightly reminiscent of 'Dark Metal' era Bethlehem too (see 'Sorrow Descending' for the best example), but I don't want to keep making comparisons, as I feel it's detrimental to the band who show heart through conveying such pure emotion on a vast scale, and create enough original passages to garner my interest, and most importantly respect for not going with the flow. A refreshing change.

Originally written for www.metalcrypt.com

Pure emotion.

I have listened to this album countless times now, and they are the best words to describe this release, pure emotion. Every song, every chord, every lyric conveys pain, agony, anger and strength.

In my opinion this is the best HFC release by leaps and bounds, the production is top notch, the songs seem to flow a lot better than on previous releases, and in general the listener gets a sense of a band that knew exactly what they wanted to convey in their material and have done so excellently.

At only 26 minutes long, I felt they could have added at least a few more songs, but in saying that, quality over quantity, and they have made each song count.

The stand out track for me has to be "The Final Transition" and for me sums up everything I said at the start about emotion, such a powerful song.

If I had to pick fault, I would say that track 4 - "Sorrow Descending" is maybe dragged on a bit too much, but that is really scrapping the bottom of the barrel for something negative to say.

I think Honey For Christ summed themselves up better than I ever could - "100% raw, unclean, uncut heavy fucking metal!!!"

Buy this CD.