MUSIC: MATTERHORN – Crimes Of Man

Shane | 3 May 2018 | Reply

MUSIC: MATTERHORN – Crimes Of Man
Independent
April 2018
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7 ½ /10

When we first heard Matterhorn’s debut they were an Adelaide cover band touting an EP featuring their take on classics including Ozzy’s Over The Mountain, Dio’s Don’t Talk To Strangers, Diamondhead’s Am I Evil and even Maiden’s epic Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.

It’s a great slab of traditional metal, but even then (2014) I couldn’t help but comment “I’d be more interested in hearing what originals they could come up with.”

Well the wait is finally over and Crimes Of Man is a monster.

Thirteen tracks of very, very old school metal – most ranging from four-and-a-half to almost ten minutes long – that references Judas Priest, Saxon, Doro, Pantera and their ilk, this is a barren wasteland where riffs rule the ruins, and we are all slaves to the relentlessly pounding rhythm section.

Singer Amanda Ozolins possesses an epic set of pipes on her, with Doro Pesch being the obvious comparison, but her vocals here are the match for any metal singer male or female.

Guitarist Brendan Ozolin must leave riffs in his wake as he walks down the street – his playing here is monolithic: great big slabs of primal riffage that should awake the beast in any listener.

Bassist Steve Opitz (any relation, I wonder?) and drummer Jaryd Dorey are relentless in providing the rhythm atop which the Ozolins work, and the whole thing sounds HUGE, right up to the nine-and-a-half minute closing track, The Riff, which is extremely appropriately named.

Heavy. As. Fuck.