Holocaust is a name that became synonymous with the NWOBHM. Like many bands from that scene they burned briefly, but brightly, leaving a handful of releases in their wake that would influence countless bands and shape the future of heavy metal for decades to come. In the case of Holocaust, their original tenure provided a legacy that overshadowed their later work, leaving many unknowing the band had several incarnations. Following Cherry Red’s first instalment of the band’s story (reviewed here), Dance Into The Void: Complete Recordings Vol 2: 1989-2003 shines a light on an era when Holocaust were pushing at the boundaries of metal, and evidences a band at a creative peak and a body of work that demands the spotlight.

Disc One: The Sound Of Souls EP (1989) / Heavy Metal Mania EP (1993)

Towards the end of their original tenure Holocaust sheered in two with guitarist Ed Dudley continuing as Hologram (releasing the radio friendly Steal The Stars) and founding member John Mortimer retaining the band’s name (and unleashing No Man’s Land), both group’s fizzled out by the end of 1984 and it seemed Holocaust would become a footnote (albeit an important one) in the annuls of the NWOBHM. But the thing is: no one ever forget this Edinburgh crew (how could they) and when Metallica covered ‘The Small Hours’ in ‘87, it reminded the world what they were missing. That cover was undoubtedly instrumental in getting Holocaust reenergised, but when they returned in 1989 with The Sound Of Souls EP it became obvious that they weren’t going to rely on past glories, unleashing five tracks that were at once forward facing and timeless. Operating as a trio, they produced a record that exists somewhere between Kreator’s Extreme Aggression and Voivod’s Dimension Hatröss. Opener ‘This Annihilation’ is thrasher that toys with tempos and time changes, whilst the following ‘I Smash The Void’ does a 360-degree swivel to throw the listener into a hex, and it’s a flux that will characterise The Sound Of Souls, being five diverse tracks that are stitched together by their own eclecticism. The Sound Of Souls was the perfect mission statement and was a clear marker that Holocaust were back, big time.

Listened to straight after The Sounds Of Souls, 1993’s Heavy Metal Mania EP feels like a retrogressive step. It featured four tracks, the three which are re-recordings are presented here. How you react to these songs will depend on your relationship with the originals; while they are no carbon copies, they aren’t radical interpretations but they don’t bring anything new to the table either. Perhaps the best of the bunch is ‘The Small Hours’ which increases the unsettling feel of the original exponentially. It made Heavy Metal Mania a curiosity, rather than an essential purchase.

Disc Two: Spirits Fly (1996)

As with many bands who emerged via the NWOBHM movement, it’s that era to which most people focus and whilst Holocaust’s The Nightcomers is a great album (certainly comparable with Wheels Of Steel and Angel Witch), it’s their later (and often overlooked) work that was far more interesting. 1992’s Hypnosis Of Birds is a prime example and found the band twisting minds with a style of music I can only describe as psychedelic heavy metal. Rather confusingly, their 1996 album, Spirits Fly, was a re-release of Hypnosis Of Birds with four cuts added for good measure. It’s a brown tab, acid-induced nightmare, with chords bend out of shape like the wreckage of an aeroplane crash and metal melted at extremely high temperatures and then remoulded into unorthodox forms. On hearing opening track ‘Into Lebanon’ and the following ‘The Small Hours’ it is understandable why there was the schism and rupture in the original Holocaust. The songs here are nothing like the radio friendly sound Ed Dudley aimed for with Hologram, rather they are challenging and arresting, and while they might not provide the quick sugar rush like the tunes found on Steal The Stars, the songs comprising on Hypnosis Of Birds/Spirits Fly are riddles that are nigh on impossible to unpick, making this an album that you’ll return to again and again. This is an album that touches the whole range of emotions, from the ethereally-beautiful ‘Summer Tides’ to the downright sinister ‘In The Dark Places Of The Earth’, the band even find the time to explore some roots, such as on the Rush-inspired ‘Mortal Mother’. Released at a time when grunge was in its ascendency and metal was at a commercial ebb, Hypnosis Of Birds/Spirits Fly was denied the larger audience it deserved, but hopefully Dance Into The Void will rectify that.

The four additional cuts feature several re-recordings which seem a little superfluous (pointless, even), it’s notable for including a cover of Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’. It could be argued the San Francisco crew resurrected interest in Holocaust with their version of ‘The Small Hours’ on The $5.98 EP, and the favour is returned here with ‘Master Of Puppets’ (and after all those royalties, it’s the least they could do).

Disc Three: Covenant (1997)

You get the feeling that Holocaust’s primary songwriter and driving force John Mortimer was happy with Hypnosis Of Birds/Spirits Fly (and quite rightly), so much so that he continued with the “format” on 1997 opus, Covenant. When Holocaust returned after their hiatus with The Sound Of Souls it took many by surprise, understandable as their developmental curve had taken a quantum leap. This time around Covenant feels like a natural evolution from its predecessor, rather than a wild tangent, and as such it finds the progression of Hypnosis Of Birds taken that little bit further. While Covenant might be cut from the same cloth, it’s certainly no carbon copy and the progressive template offers plenty of scope for experimentation. That only two of the album’s tracks clock in at under four minutes should give a good indication of the albums scope, and if there’s one word that sums things up, it’s “epic”. From the sweeping concept that threads the album together to the sixteen-and-a-half minute ‘The Battle Of Soaring Woodhelven’, this is a record that pushes things to the max. However, the ideas and songs never feel forced, there’s a natural evolution to proceedings and such is the all-encompassing nature of this album that it seems to alter the very fabric of time: it’ll pull you in and you’ll wonder where the past sixty-five minutes has gone at its conclusion. Songs such as ‘Alexander’ (a nine-and-a-half minute track) have enough metal in them to please older fans, whilst simultaneously pushing at those boundaries and signposting a bright future.

Disc Four: The Courage To Be (2000)

There was a feeling that Holocaust took their sound to the logical conclusion on Covenant and The Courage To Be (released in 2000) found the band swinging round and streamlining their approach somewhat. The wilder thrashings of the previous two albums has been reined in and whilst the songs can still veer towards the epic, things are more condensed this time around, and by extension The Courage To Be is a far more direct album. There’s still a progressive bent to this record, although this time around the reference point seems to be Syd Barratt-era Pink Floyd as opposed to Voivod (who were also heavily influenced by Floyd) and that’s most obvious on the couplet of ‘When Penelope Dreams’ (Parts One and Two). Part One is quite dreamy and wistful in that quintessentially British way, Part Two is hard and heavy, and this perfectly encapsulates the duality of the album as it sways effortlessly between the two poles. When the album gets heavy (such as on the crushing ‘Fundamentalist’), the songs are overflowing with riffs. In fact, this is a riff-centric album and stuffs more into these ten tracks that many bands pack into an entire career. Titles such as ‘Spanner Omlette’ and ‘From The Mine Shaft To The Bike Shed’ might seem a tad surreal (even off-putting to the average metalhead) but not so much when learning that the album is loosely based around the book of the same name by German philosopher Paul Tillich. Heady stuff for a heady album.

Disc Five: Primal (2003)

Whilst this set is titled Dance Into The Void, it could easily be titled The Prog Years and if there’s anything that links these five diverse discs, then it is that progressive element. The aptly-titled Primal concludes this set of albums and it finds Holocaust at their most visceral and like The Courage To Be it is the sound of a band honing things further, chopping off dead wood; those lighter moments from previous album have been surgically removed and the result is Holocaust’s darkest album by far. Songs such as ‘Black Box’ are impervious to light and find the band tightening the screws for a dark, oppressive affair that hangs heavy upon the listener. Look up “primal” in the dictionary and the definition would be ‘Fools (Bring On The Light)’; it’s red raw and blistered and furnished with a production that’s gritty and has plenty of dirt under the fingers. I remember reading contemporary reviews of these five releases and criticism was often levelled at John Mortimer’s vocals. While he might not be the world’s best vocalist, he proves himself surprisingly versatile and sounds markedly different on each of these five discs, tailoring his vocals to the album’s aesthetic. Needless to say, on Primal he indulges in a kind of (primal) scream therapy that’s just as aggressive as the music contained within. Yet, for all its sonic fury, Primal proves itself an adaptable album that crashes through the gears to deliver an album that never stay in one place long, and dragging itself like a wounded Golem is closer ‘Lost Horizons’ which brings this album, and this set, to a fitting finale.

Greater in scope than Vol 1, this second set of Holocaust albums is far more expansive and experimental, bottling some of their restless spirit. I only hope there’s going to be a third volume for us to explore.

• Dance Into The Void: Complete Recordings Vol 2: 1989-2003 is released via Cherry Red Records/HNE Recordings on 24th April 2024.

Track List:

Disc One: The Sound Of Souls / Heavy Metal Mania EP

The Sound Of Souls

1. This Annihilation

2. I Smash The Void

3. Dance Into The Vortex

4. Curious

5. Three Ways To Die

Heavy Metal Mania EP

6. Death Or Glory

7. Heavy Metal Mania

8. The Small Hours

Disc Two: Spirits Fly

1. Into Lebanon

2. The Small Hours

3. Hypnosis Of Birds

4. The Tower

5. Book Of Seasons

6. Mercier & Camier

7. Summer Tides

8. Mortal Mother

9. Cairnpapple Hill

10. In The Dark Places Of The Earth

11. Caledonia

12. Heavy Metal Mania

13. Death Or Glory

14. Master Of Puppets

15. War In Heaven

Disc Three: Covenant

1. Leper’s Progress

2. Salt Heart

3. Return To Dust

4. Paradox

5. The Battle Of Soaring Woodhelven

6. Valley Of Megiddo

7. Mount Thunder

8. We Shall See Him As He Is

9. Alexander

10. The Infinite

11. Absent Friend

Disc Four: The Courage To Be

1. The Collective

2. A Gentleman’s Penny-Farthing

3. Neurosis

4. When Penelope Dreams (Part One)

5. When Penelope Dreams (Part Two)

6. From The Mine Shaft To The Bike Shed

7. Fundamentalist

8. Spanner Omlette

9. Home From Home

10. Age Of Reason

Disc Five: Primal

1. Iron Will

2. Black Box

3. Hell On Earth

4. Transcendence

5. Fools (Bring On The Light)

6. Made Righteous

7. It’s Your Dream

8. They Colonize

9. Colossus

10. Lost Horizons