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The pride of Scotland return with a new album. This time they dive deep into the occult and the elemental. Holocaust are back with a ramming new album.

“Elder Gods,” the title track starts things off, slowly working its way into the listener’s ear, never letting up. The song sets the tone for what is to come, perfectly. “Children Of The Great Central Sun,” shifts in tone and mentality, starting with a clean and jangling intro, before moving up a gear into heaviness personified. “Ishtar,” is epic, powerful and surreal. A story comes before them and sets the scene, bringing everything into light. “Observer Two,” jangles and flicks a finger to common sense. Taking the listener down a great many paths that they might have otherwise never have known about. “Eon of Horus,” sets the stage, barrelling into being, shifting the tone and narrating the end of the world whilst heaviness reigns.

“Astaroth,” gallops into being. The vocals harmonise perfectly, setting the scene for the destruction of the world. The drums and the bass keep rhythm whilst the guitars and the vocal lines shift and experiment. “Solaris,” is slow, melodical and haunting. The true purity in John Mortimer’s voice comes out strongly here, as the song slowly progresses the heaviness gets even more pronounced, truly a fitting collection. “Bendictus,” is haunting with the shrill introductory riffs, it then moves into something else, entirely dark and powerful. “Natural State,” takes things one turn at a time, slowly shifting and finishing on a high.

Elder Gods is Holocaust’s finest album hands down. It’s out now, get it.