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Despite a dizzying array of breakups and reformations as well as a myriad of lineup changes, Wolverhampton, England's Cloven Hoof continues to soldier on 45 years into a career that began back at the dawn of the NWOBHM and continues with their ninth full-length album, Heathen Cross (or tenth, depending on how you count The Definitive Part One, a collection of re-recordings of earlier songs). Heathen Cross is the band's third album in five years, a solid pace of production from the veteran act which seem to have found solid footing even as Jag Panzer's Harry Conklin replaces Aska singer George Call who sang on the previous two albums. Conklin's air-raid wailing surely fits Cloven Hoof's power/thrash/heavy metal leanings and he does what he does best on cuts like "Sabbat Stones" and "Redeemer." The Iron Maiden gallop of "Darkest Before the Dawn" and Deep Purple-style Hammond organ on "Do What Thou Wilt" speak to Cloven Hoof's long history, but Heathen Cross is very much in line with today's heavy metal, sounding nothing like their early works. I like Heathen Cross, though not as much as the last album I reviewed (2020's Age of Steel), probably because I like George Call more than Harry Conklin, who I feel goes over the top far too often. That said, this is a release with some kick ass, pure heavy metal.