Album Review: VALLENFYRE - Fear Those Who Fear Him

01. Born To Decay

02. Messiah

03. Degeneration

04. An Apathetic Grave

05. Nihilist

06. Amongst The Filth

07. Kill All Your Masters

08. The Merciless Tide

09. Dead World Breathes

10. Soldier Of Christ

11. Cursed From The Womb

12. Temple Of Rats

Vallenfyre is the side project of Paradise Lost's lead guitarist Gregor Mackintosh (also vocals in Vallenfyre), and Fear Those Who Fear Him is their third, and reportedly final album. It's well documented that Gregor has a passion for Extreme and Death Metal, and Vallenfyre appears to be his way of channelling his creativity in that department. Despite being a huge Paradise Lost fan, this is my first time properly checking out Vallenfyre. I like some Death Metal, but I'm quite selective with the genre and I have to be in the mood for it. It's a bit like Marmite. I really like it now and again, but can go for long periods of my life without having any of it and I'm just fine. The first Paradise Lost song I ever heard was Pity The Sadness from the album Shades of God. I loved it and have followed the band ever since. Having said that, I tried to get into the debut album Lost Paradise and it wasn't for me. Neither was much of the follow up album Gothic. I'm always hearing fans barking on about those first two albums, but for me Paradise Lost became infinitely better after them. And that, in a nutshell, is why I never bothered with Vallenfyre before. I assumed it would sound like very early Paradise Lost and wouldn't be my bag.

I'm actually pleased I checked this out as I quite like it. It's certainly a lot more filthy sound-wise than I thought it would be, with big distorted guitars that remind me of early Entombed and the Dismember classic- Casket Garden. Any melody or hook has been contaminated with an oil spillage of Napalm Death, making Fear Those Who Fear Him a treat for all crusty Metal fans who like bands with unreadable logos and fan bases of less than a hundred worldwide.

If dirty sodden Death Metal is your vice, Vallenfyre is for you. I'm just hoping Gregor and Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost / Bloodbath vocalist) have scratched their Death Metal itches with their side projects, and will bring back more of the sorely missed melody to Paradise Lost.