Review by Daniel for Cloven Hoof - Cloven Hoof (1984)

Cloven Hoof are often described as coming from the so-called “second wave of British heavy metal” which is a tag that seems to have been defined predominantly to cover bands that arrived too late in the game to be covered by the original New Wave tag. But given that the New Wave had floundered somewhat after the swift rise of the MTV generation & the US thrash & power metal movements, I find the term to be pretty much disposable. To be fair though, the band had been around in one form or another since right back at the beginning of the New Wave movement so they might count themselves as being unlucky that they missed the boat when it came to releasing recorded material. But despite their lack of records on the shelves, Cloven Hoof had always possessed a penchant for the theatrical with their stage shows including elaborate outfits & props & the band members taking on pseudonyms based on the four elements of water, fire, air & earth. I’m not sure that I find those pseudonyms to be particularly metal though. Fire yeah but not the other three. I’m sure it had some sort of relevance from a lyrical perspective but perhaps not for names of band members.

Cloven Hoof finally released their self-titled debut album through Neat Records in 1984 & it’s developed somewhat of a cult following over the years. My initial impression was that the production doesn’t do the band any favours at all with the tinny guitar sound & overall noisiness & distortion having a pretty significant impact on my listening experience. That’s not to say that this was anything terribly unusual for a NWOBHM debut but it doesn’t really align with the maturity of the music on display. The AC/DC crunch is certainly evident in the guitars & it’s not hard to pick up the origins of Cloven Hoof. It’s a pure New Wave production effort that’s a long way from the new US metal sound which was completely devoid of any remaining rock influence.

Vocalist David Potter doesn’t sport the operatic style of so many of the period's elite heavy metal vocalists. He preferred a more masculine approach that does the job but lacks the x factor to take Cloven Hoof to the elite level. He’s not bad as such but I do feel that the band’s appeal is capped by his vocal limitations. It’s hard to put my finger on what’s missing but if pushed I’d suggest that he just doesn’t have any star quality.

Musically, Cloven Hoof tread similar ground to the more senior NWOBHM acts but present their ideas in a unique way. Perhaps not with the focus I’d like though. The seven tracks see them jump around a little bit stylistically with a mixture of lengthy progressive metal workouts, shorter & more traditional heavy metal numbers & also one track that was clearly an attempt to clone AC/DC’s crunchy brand of hard rock. There’s a truckload of Iron Maiden here with the guitar melodies being amongst the album highlights. I really enjoy that side of the band. The simpler songs like “Nightstalker” & “Laying Down The Law” seem to draw from the classic Judas Priest model while the more ambitious progressive material showcases the band’s clear penchant for more complex arrangements. And given the dark lyrical themes of witchcraft & Satanic rites, I’d suggest that bands like Mercyful Fate & Witchfynde have played a part in Cloven Hoof’s overall style. Angel Witch pops up at times too.

In theory this all sounds like it should be right up my alley. I mean it’s a particularly metal focused release with lots of variety & darker lyrical themes. What’s not to like about that? And to an extent that ends up being the case but the overall inconsistency of the tracklisting leaves the closing nine minute epic “Return Of The Passover” with the responsibility of pulling the album back from the brink of failure in my opinion. A feat it only just manages to achieve thanks to some genuinely innovative musical exploration from the band musically including what sounds like a Jimmy Page inspired section that sees the use of a violin bow being applied on the guitar during the intro section. “Cloven Hoof” is an overrated but consistently interesting release that should appeal to fans of the NWOBHM sound but I don’t suggest that you harbour any expectations that it will compete with the big boys of the movement.