Cloven Hoof’s Conquistador: An 80s Style Thrill Ride of Glittering Metal Mayhem

Halloween is coming, so it’s a great time to check out some devil inspired metal. New release metal is a blind spot fo Jukebox reviews. The big ones stick out, but we never really dive into metal, so Halloween makes a great excuse to jump into the deep end of the metal pool. Nothing says Halloween more than a band’s name inspired by Satan, Cloven Hoof, and an album cover with skeleton Jesus carrying a cross. So, I did a little research on Cloven Hoof. They have been around since the late 70s and came up with other UK metal bands like Iron Maiden, which will be important later. There have been many member changes, but founding bassist Lee Payne is still with the band. So, will Cloven Hoof scratch that Halloween itch?

First off, this is pure 80s metal candy. From the opening Spanish style acoustic guitar…get it…Conquistador…to the final crunchy riffs, this track has it all. There is a ton of crunch, epic guitar solos, a touch of weird synth prog and some driving percussion. Musically, Conquistador feels like the spiritual sequel to Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, which makes sense when you think of how the two UK bands came up at the same time. On the surface, all this 80s style musicality may seem outdated…like going to your aunt’s house and seeing brown and yellow linoleum in the kitchen. But all that’s old is new again. In an age with over produced mixes and electro metal, it’s a fresh change to get some no frills 80s style prog metal. It’s similar to the punk renaissance with The Chats, Parquet Courts, Amyl and the Sniffers and even Fontaines D.C. to some extent, which finds us revisiting 80s Black Flag – esque arrangements with modern twists.

The vocal will equally take you down memory lane. Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin is on vocals and has come up with bands like Jag Panzer and Satan’s Host, so throwing down on some prog metal about death, a holy war and a quest for gold is right in his wheel house. He brings this theatrical and epic vocal with drama and the over the top falcetto that I love in old school metal. His vocal really puts this track over the top and makes it a must for your Halloween playlist.

This is metal that deserves leather and jean jackets. Acid wash everything you own and put this on. Now, I don’t see this as genre changing like Mastodon or Baby Metal or Backxwash or Health, but this is a very fun diversion. I love that this type of old school metal is still out there in order to give the genre diversity and life. Conquistador is a ton of fun and fits right in during the scary season.

Listen to Conquistador