The Five Hundred

The Veil

Written by: MAK on 20/05/2017 17:33:54

The Five Hundred is a five-piece that formed in late 2014, providing technical, melodic metal from the rough streets of Nottingham, UK. The quintet is known for delivering barrages of down-tuned riffs and mind blowing hooks performed on eight-string guitars. Over the last year, the Nottingham men have been hard at work writing their latest EP, “The Veil”, a five-track outing which is a follow-up to their 2015 EP, “Winters”. “The Veil” was produced by Justin Paul Hill, who has worked with the likes of Sikth, Heart of a Coward and Betraying The Martyrs. This latest EP promises to be a collection of the band’s most haunting, heavy and darkly melodic work so far.

Opening with “Aftermath”, the sounds of guitar feedback in the background of soothing plucky melodies, the odd drum machine effects subtly prick the ear before some lo-fi sounding beats kick in. This is just the set up for “Ghost In The Flames”, which is a vast punch in the face following the intro track. We are hit by blasts of the double pedal and haunting down-tuned riffs fronted by the John Eley’s savage shouts. He then mixes his vocal talents; during the chorus Eley throws in some epic cleans which are then followed by monstrous growls. The tone of the track is incredibly imposing, especially with how the guitar melodies sound on top of the continuous double pedal and darker chugging hooks.

“The Rush” kicks in with an up-tempo, menacing groove that you can’t help but bang your head to. The ferocity is taken up a notch along with the technical mastery on display. The guitar melodies are incredibly technical early on, and The Five Hundred showcase many different rhythms within the track. It’s hard to keep up on one listen. “The Rush” shows an increase in heaviness which doesn’t dull down at all in the following tracks.

The two-part title track, “The Veil” shows a more experimental side to the Nottingham lads, revealing influences from and simpler metal format. Part one opens with Eley’s captivating cleans again, over more teasing plucky melodies. Gradually the distorted voices kick in and the singing crescendo’s, breaking into a tandem of savage screams. Much like “Ghost In The Flame” does, the change hits you hard. The track is aggressive and progressive, the riffs aren’t quite as technical, but holy crap they are crunchy and dominate the track along with Eley’s impressively captivating combination of clean and harsh vocals. An ear-pricking solo leads into Part two, which is a nice soft, closer to the EP, reflecting how it opened.

The Veil is a solid listen, it’s ridiculously heavy in places while the impressive musicianship balances it out from being a heavy album for heavy sake. The fiddly solos, the combination of hard hitting riffs, the impacting drum work and a frontman who can sing epically as well as show his ferocious side. These are great elements of a decent metal band, and this is a nice taster for a new album on the horizon. I certainly look forward to seeing how their sound progresses.

Download: Ghost In The Flame, The Rush, The Veil Pt1
For The Fans Of: Heart of a Coward,Monuments, Betraying The Martyrs, Textures
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 21.04.2017
London Road Records


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