Left Hand Black Death Can't Keep Us Apart Review
Left Hand Black
Death Can't Keep Us Apart
The Circle Music
2025
Some bands throw on corpse paint and hope for the best. Others, like the Swiss band, Left Hand Black, live and breathe the grave dirt, coughing it up in every riff, croon and howl. The band’s latest full-length, “Death Can’t Keep Us Apart”, is their 3rd release and its proof that when you play Horrorpunk with this much conviction, the cemetery gates aren’t a barrier, they’re an opening into the netherworld.
From the opening track, “Murder On My Mind Again”, it’s clear this record isn’t content to just shuffle along like some garden-variety ghoul. No, this one comes sprinting out of the mausoleum with hooks sharpened to a razor’s edge and a rhythm section that pound like a thousand wooden stakes. The guitars slash and burn, drenched in melody but never sacrifices the grit, while the vocals balance angst and sing-a-long charm - the kind that makes you want to raise a glass of blood and shout along until your throat is raw.
What stands out most about “Death Can’t Keep Us Apart” is how it captures both sides of the Horrorpunk coin: it’s grim, but it’s also strangely life-affirming and fun in its energy. Every chorus feels like a seance turned into a block party, like the dead rising to dance instead of just moaning. The melodies are infectious in a way that would make even the most hardened ghoul tap a boot against the killing floor.
Tracks like “Damned Love” and title track “Death Can’t Keep Us Apart” channel the Misfits-esque knack for unforgettable choruses, but Left Hand Black inject their own venom into the formula, making the songs hit harder and faster. It should also be noted that our old pal, Nim Vind also plays lead guitar and sings back up on the “Death Can’t Keep Us Apart”! Meanwhile, slower burners like “A Doomed Romance on a Summer Night” proves the band can do atmosphere just as well, wrapping the listener in cobwebs and candlelight.
What ties the whole thing together is the band’s musicianship. These aren’t just Horror fanatics banging out riffs in a basement, they’re tight, dialed in, and capable of throwing curveballs when you least expect it.
By the time the album closes, you’re left grinning like a corpse with its jaw wired shut. Death may separate flesh from bone, but it can’t stop this band from writing songs that sound like they were meant to echo forever in the graveyard at midnight.
This entire album is a Standout!