Larry Rogers | Feburary 24, 2015

my review copy revealed quite a bit about the dynamics of a young band’s struggles to develop songs and record them under less than ideal circumstances. The paperwork with the record claims Bedemon was the “first American doom band!” Arising from the mind of founding members of Pentagram and some outside friends, Bedemon helped move the genre along, eventually giving way to bands like Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, the Great Kat, and other pseudo-Satanic bands, According to the band’s official history on their website, the band was more of a project that sprang largely from the mind of lead guitarist Randy Palmer, who died in a car accident in 2003.

 

Once you accept the audio limitations of the recording and dig into the music, you find yourself immersed in the relentless dirge-like doom and gloom metal that was pioneered and popularized by Black Sabbath. Sabbath has no monopoly on the sound or style, thank goodness, because these guys bring some real sturm und drang to the party. “Child of Darkness” opens the album, which is fitting, as bassist and guitarist Mike Matthews claims this as “the song that started it all!” Oh so “Paranoid”-esque, the lyrics and mood perfectly represent the album as a whole. Singer Bobby Liebling doesn’t sound like Ozzy Osbourne, though, but the rhythms and cadence are so obviously inspired by the Prince of Darkness that Liebling seems to channel him.

 

Drummer Geoff O’Keefe’s first Bedemon song “Frozen Fear” features everything a great radio-friendly doom tune could ask for: seemingly deep, depressing lyrics that mean little, a guitar solo for both guitarist, and a change-of-pace middle verse. “My time is getting near/I’m crying, does no one hear?/Burning fire inside my head/I pay or soon I’ll be dead.” It’s the perfect verse that speaks to the inner monologue of 90% of teenage metal fans.

 

“Nighttime Killers” and “One-Way Road” pick up the pace a little bit, bringing the tempo out of dirge/acid rock territory and into a more “modern” metal rhythm. Thematically, both cover the topic of death, but lyrically the subject seems mainly to be the result of a group of sociopaths turning on people. Just your average powerless teenage fantasy set to a suitable soundtrack.

 

The backstory to instrumental “Axe to Grind” covers over a page and a half in the liner notes. Suffice it to say that this lost gem never appeared on the first album. Lyrics were written but then removed, and this song eventually just became a showcase for the skills these guys developed between 1973 and the recording of “Axe…” in 1979. A study in rhythm and guitar solos, this song could easily be the background music during a movie’s driving scene - a movie involving more guns than teeth.

 

“Into the Grave” amply illustrates the main reason many feared groups like Bedemon beyond their goth/horror imagery and disturbing music. Lines like “Death to some seems very bad/But death to you’s the best friend you’ve ever had” certainly kept the evangelical community busy intoning against metal bands.

For someone like me who bemoans the loss of the guitar solo every chance he gets, this album, with all its flaws, still shines brightly. Matthews and Palmer crank out some truly breathtaking solos amid the driving dirges. It certainly would have been wonderful had Palmer lived and this new release came out with all the benefits of a modern multi-track digital studio. However, keeping the retro feel and not overproducing this album imposes a mood and emotional gravitas that a shinier, cleaner recording may have lost. Truly, Bedemon’s Child of Darkness deserves a place in every self-respecting metalhead’s library.