Brocas Helm
Black Death

Lost in the underground of American metal, these Brocas Helm have garnered little, too little from their career. In 1990, they even disbanded, only to return in 2004 with "Defender of the Crown." A group that is almost entirely unknown. Their records have become legends, unfindable. But more importantly, they have been crucial for the evolution of a niche genre of heavy metal: epic. There are many, if not too many, clichés about this kind of music. Those who don't listen to it entirely because of "sword and dragon" lyrics, and those who accuse it of lacking originality. There is nothing worse than judging an album and, moreover, a genre without having listened to anything about it. Bands like Brocas Helm, Manilla Road, Omen have given much to the metal movement but have never received the success they deserved. For these and other reasons, I've decided to listen to this album again, to dust it off, and maybe introduce it to those who have never heard of it and hold prejudices against epic.

"Black Death" came to light in 1988 after various recording issues that left the band with a very limited budget. The sound suffers, ruined beyond belief, raw, as ignoble as one might hear. Despite this, a little gem is born. A rough music, difficult to digest on first listen. What complicates the listening of Black Death the most is the complete schizophrenia of the rhythms. The band abandons any kind of scheme and brings to life intricate, syncopated music. The total rejection of merchandising rules is found in the unbalanced Hell's Whip, where you can listen to continuous glass breaking for over a minute. As if that weren't enough, the initial title track completely shatters the "classic heavy metal" style with a dark incipit that evolves into one of the greatest epic-metal songs in history. An exceptional refrain reminds us of a hint of hard rock that is pleasing to find in albums of this kind. These Brocas are also capable of creating a ballad but revisiting it in their own way of understanding music: The Chemist is the most ungraceful thing you might hear. A sickly ballad that seems straight out of the soundtrack of an old seventies cartoon. Simply amazing.

This Black Death is not a masterpiece of heavy metal, but it was and will continue to be one of the most copied epic albums. People like Brocas Helm, who have continued to make their music regardless of success, ignoring the music market of the time, deserve the attention and respect that over time they have lost to the detriment of more commercial and "catchy" music.