In 2019, Promethium, a gang of talented metal heads was featured as the seventh artist in our Mayhem Virgins series. Since then there have been reviews and a few appearances in the Mayhem charts. So obviously when I heard that they have an upcoming album I was very interested indeed! It will be released later in 2023 and is called ‘Bleeding The Ghost’. The band has undergone a lineup change in advance of this, their fifth album. The introduction of James on vocals, Andy on Guitar, and Stu on drums has not taken the quality down at all. Plus Ace guitarist Dan and Bass God, Gentle Ben, are still around to provide riffs aplenty and bass notes that have the power to act as a defibrillator if needed. The album is produced by Promethium’s Dan with Mick Armistead. The lyrics are all by vocalist James Candlin, and I love this bit from the sleeve notes, “Except some bits where it needed to get proper 80s“. These exceptions were provided by axe maestro Dan Lovett-Horn. Sadly you don’t get that level of detail on steaming services, do you?
The album opens with an instrumental, “Goat”. A tune that kicks off in a relatively light acoustic way and powers into a gorgeous crescendo of metal guitars. It almost lulls you into a sense that this might be a slightly softer-sounding album from Lancaster’s finest metal band. But then, the title track kicks off like a proper heavy bastard of a tune. “Bleeding The Ghost” is dark and has an undercurrent of menace and I bloody love it! Just when you might think the massive riffage could not get any bigger, along comes “Priest” which is shaping up to be one of my favourite tracks on this album. At times this evoked memories of both Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. The lyrics on “Priest” are exceptionally good. In particular “lonely girl was talking to a broken Ouija board” is chilling and fits the song perfectly. If she listened to “Murder She Wrote” I imagine that Angela Lansbury’s head would explode. For in Promethium’s alternative universe, I think Jessica Fletcher, who solved all the murders in Cabot Cove, was actually the murderer!
The band is tight on every track here, but I should give a special shout-out to Stu Gordon whose drumming on “Healing Your Sin” is mountainous and magnificent. The hook in the chorus stays in your head long after it ends too. “Knives Out” has a feel of Ice Nine Kills to it, especially the slasher film tropes in the lyrics. The song is full of electrifying and frenetic energy. The timing for the release of “Manhattan” is perfect, as it is about J. Robert Oppenheimer. Is there a Barbie-related song in the Promethium archive? We need to know! Incidentally Promethium are in good company in using Oppenheimer’s name in their lyrics. Billy Bragg, Nik Kershaw, and most famously Sting. Linkin Park used a sample of Oppnheimer’s voice back in 2010. The gang vocals on the “Catfish” and “Snakebite” choruses are something I can imagine being screamed at mega volume at a Promethium gig. The guitar solos bring back the perfectly formed ghost of some of the greatest NWOBHM bands. To the younger readers, that means the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, a phrase first used in UK music paper ‘Sounds’ in 1979. Ask your Grandparents about it! The album closes with the deep, dark, epic and anthemic “My Fate”. The strings add a film score, cinematic quality to a stunningly good tune! Do everything in your power to get this album, you will not be disappointed! In fact why not pre-order it here?
All images are taken from the band’s social media pages, if one of them is yours and you would like a credit, give me a shout!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 