Ah, what a great name for a metal band, eh? Conjures up all the right (or wrong, depending on which side of the barbed-wire fence you're sitting!) Satanic images, doesn't it? Hailing from Wolverhampton, of all places, Cloven Hoof formed in 1979 but settled their basic lineup and released their debut EP in 1982. Throughout their career the band would endure many staff changes, as is a recurring theme through most of the NWOBHM bands - even the mighty Maiden - but in the case of these guys, the lineup would be stipped down right to the bone, leaving one member as the sole survivor from the original band. But more of that later.
Originally, the band consisted of four members, who had the admittedly quite unique and interesting idea of each taking as a pseudonym one of the four elements, as described below, with notes to explain who left and was replaced by whom.
David Potter (Water) - Vocals (see Note 1)
Steve Rounds (Fire) - Guitar (See Note 2)
Lee Payne (Air) - Bass
Kevin Poutney (Earth) - Drums (See Note 3)
Note 1: After recording the debut, Potter left to be replaced by Rob Kendrick. He assumed the mantle of “Water” for the time he was there. In 1988 he was replaced by Russ North. By now the band (of which only Lee Payne remained, he hiring basically a whole new crew) had dropped the pseudonyms. The band split again in 1990, reformed in 2001 (although reformed is not really the word, as this was again a whole new lineup) and Matt Moreton took on the role of vocalist, until 2006 when North came back. He left and rejoined a few times, but for the sake of simplicity we'll just say he was their last steady vocalist, and leave it at that.
Note 2: in 1988, when Payne restarted the band, Rounds was replaced by Andy Wood. In 1989 Cloven Hoof added a second guitarist, Lee Jones, before splitting again. Wood was replaced by Andy Shortland for their 2006 album, and thereafter by Mick Powell, joined later by Ben Read to replace the departed Jones.
Note 3: Jon Brown took over on the drumstool for the first reformation of the band in 1988, and then Lynch Radinsky in 2006, shortly afterwards replaced by the returning Brown.
Footnote: the lineup changes in Cloven Hoof were a lot more complicated than this, but rather than confuse you with a dizzying account of people who left, came back, left again, came back again, joined briefly before leaving again, and so on, the above will have to suffice as a basic idea of how fluid the membership of this band was.
Under the original lineup listed above, Cloven Hoof released first an EP in 1982 titled
The Opening Ritual, and two years later their first full album.
Cloven Hoof - Cloven Hoof - 1984 (Neat)
Well, if you're going to title your first album the same as your band, you may as well have a song called that too! AND have it first! So the album opens with the riproaring “Cloven Hoof”, and from the beginning this band sound really more black metal (although by that time the term hadn't really been invented) than heavy metal, with growling, guttural vocals (though not, thank everything, death ones!), echoey guitars that can at a moment's notice snap to face-punching power chords, thundering drums and dark, doomy lyrics. Throw in a few demon growl sound-effects and you're set for an album that, even by its title and that of the band, was guaranteed to draw attention from the self-styled protectors of the innocent.
Great guitar solos from Steve Rounds - or should I say, Fire? - which really bring some class into a song that a times is just a little too heavy, not in terms of music but just in general: seems a bit plodding even if it is fast. That makes no sense, I know. Just listen to it, you'll see what I mean. It's kind of like drowning in hot tar. But the lively guitar provides a lifeline for you to climb out of the pit.
Metallica and Megadeth must have taken their cue from some of the songs here, as the style is somewhat similar, as “Nightstalker” refuses to let the pace slacken, in fact ups it slightly, Rounds managing to sound like two guitarists instead of just the one, and David “Water” Potter's voice perfectly complementing the material. This is not metal for beginners! Elements of fellow metallers Saxon in there, as well as speed and noise merchants Motorhead. “March of the Damned” is a short instrumental, great showcase for the guitar, recalling the best of Diamond Head, then we get a track which originally appeared on their 1982 debut EP
The Opening Ritual. Remixed and re-recorded, “Gates of Gehenna” is another rock chugger, cracking along at a loping pace with a lot of early Iron Maiden in evidence, as well as the best of Black Sabbath.
This is a short album, only seven tracks in all. There are actually ten on the CD, but that's a reissue with bonus material, and my policy has always been to review albums based on what was on either the original vinyl recordings (I'm an oldie, you see) or if they were never on vinyl, whatever was on the original CD. So we're left with only seven tracks to work with, and after the powerful, thumping “Gates of Gehenna” comes to an equally powerful and emphatic close, “Crack the Whip” is the closest Cloven Hoof come to a straight-ahead rock song, with a beat that resonates with Steppenwolf memories and just a dash of the Stones (Rolling, not Roses), with “Water” Potter attempting a pretty funny falsetto - I don't think it's
meant to be funny, but by gum it is!
“Laying Down the Law” is another standard rocker, less heavy than their previous material but with a great beat and some excellent, finger-burning fretwork from Rounds - no wonder he chose fire as his symbol! - then the album closes on the nine-minute epic “Return of the Passover”, which starts off a little prog-rocky, with heavy synth and feedback guitar, then kicks into a Maiden groove, going through some major changes over the course of its life, some choppy, snarly guitar switching with sweet shredding and then galloping, chug-a-long axework as Steve Rounds makes the most of what would, in the end, be his last outing with the band.
A powerful and epic opening shot, the debut from Cloven Hoof comes across in places as more speed or even thrash metal, veering into black metal territory, though they seem to be able to pull back on the throttle enough to play basic heavy metal, and all in all it's a pretty impressive debut.
TRACK LISTING
1. Cloven Hoof
2. Nightstalker
3. March of the Damned
4. The Gates of Gehenna
5. Crack the Whip
6. Laying Down the Law
7. Return of the Passover
As detailed earlier, this was the last album recorded by the original lineup of Cloven Hoof, and true to the nature of the feet in their name, they split, and weren't heard from again for four years, when bassist, and only surviving founder member Lee Payne recruited essentially a whole new band to record their second album. This would be a lot different to their debut, firstly by being a concept album, and secondly by being based on a science-fiction storyline.
Dominator - Cloven Hoof - 1988 (FM Revolver)
There's no slowing these guys down! With new vocalist Russ North onboard, the new lineup takes up where the original left off in terms of speed, and power into the appropriately-titled “Rising Up”. One thing you can hear straight away is the difference in North's vocals as opposed to Potter's guttural growl and roar: his are much clearer, cleaner and more suited to the material here. He can shout with the best of them, but seems not to believe he has to growl or scream, a much more controlled voice I believe.
Great guitar work from replacement axeman Andy Wood, ably filling the shoes of the now-departed Steve Rounds. I'm not certain of the actual story behind the album, but “Nova Battlestar” tells the tale of a spaceship going to war in some far-flung galaxy, and would seem to be influenced by the big science-fiction epics around at the time, the likes of the
Star Wars films and of course the series
Battlestar Galactica (the original, not the re-imagining of recent years): you can also hear the Iron Maiden leanings evident on the last few tracks of their debut begin to burgeon and expand now, and they're definitely more in the camp of power metal now, shying away from the darker, muggier style of their first album. Even the artwork on the album cover is slightly reminiscent of some of the Iron Maiden covers.
“Reach for the Sky” continues the story (whatever it is!) and was originally on their live album,
Fighting Back, as was later track “The Fugitive” (more Maiden links?), and is a good solid rocker, with the days of black and doom metal now, it would seem, firmly behind them. Great guitar solo on this track, and new drummer Jon Brown certainly knows where the kit is! It's another short album, and “Warrior of the Wasteland” takes us halfway there, with the first slow song I've heard yet from Cloven Hoof. Impressive vocal from North, as he narrates part of the story, and some really introspective guitar work from Wood before the song fires up a little, getting heavier but still remaining generally mid-paced, not a ballad by any means, with some fiery fretwork from Wood as it then gathers speed, and a really discordant solo that somehow fits in perfectly. By the end of the song it's been through about as many changes really as the closer to their debut! Not bad for a song that's four minutes shy of “Return of the Passover”...
“The Invaders” (the Maiden references just keep coming!) keeps things fast but with churning guitars and galloping drums maintaining order on the song, and North's authoritative vocal taking charge. Some interesting vocal effects where he tries to sound alien or robotic, but comes across as a Dalek with a bad cold! Then “The Fugitive” (see what I mean? It even starts out like Maiden's song “The Prisoner”!) keeps things rocking until the title track kicks in to slow things down just a little with more of a cruncher than we've had up to now.
As he wrote every song on this album, I can only imagine that Lee Payne must have been listening to most of Iron Maiden's catalogue, especially
Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and
Powerslave, as this album, apart from being so unlike the debut, is so like Maiden that it's almost scary. Yes, Cloven Hoof have certainly their own identity, and I would not accuse them of ever being a Maiden rip-off or copycat band, but they have obviously been heavily impressed and influenced by the work of Messrs Dickinson, Murray, Harris and Co., particularly on “The Fugitive”.
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Closer “Road of Eagles” was originally on their first demo, and is a little hackneyed, but a decent one to end on, if not the strongest of tracks. It's interesting though to see how much the band have changed from the dark, somewhat confused heaviness of the debut, to the clearer, slicker and more cohesive sound on
Dominator. Definitely a band who were evolving.
TRACK LISTING
1. Rising Up
2. Nova Battlestar
3. Reach for the Sky
4. Warrior of the Wasteland
5. The Invaders
6. The Fugitive
7. Dominator
8. Road of Eagles
Unfortunately, as we have seen, Cloven Hoof were only to release one more album before this rather fine lineup fell apart and the band split again. Normally, I only take a maximum of three albums from any one band featured here, but as Cloven Hoof only had four real albums in all, we're going to look at them all here.