Consistency, thy name is Lucifer's Hammer. Be and Exist is their fourth full-length album and sixth release I've reviewed (counting shorter efforts) and their early Maiden/NWOBHM sound is firmly intact. "The Fear of Anubis" is an instrumental in the Iron Maiden mold of smooth yet heavy songwriting while other songs are a little wilder and hard rocking in the Tokyo Blade, Cloven Hoof, etc. mold, like "Antagony" and "Medusa Spell," but it is all gloriously old school. Speaking of "glorious," the track "Glorious Night" continues to expose Lucifer's Hammer's weakness, namely the vocals of singer/guitarist Hades. Not as bad as he's been in the past, he still drifts in and out of tune on the chorus and is shaky elsewhere on the album, but not so much as to make any of it unlistenable. The guitar solos remain a strength, giving the songs just what they need and not overstaying their welcome. The songwriting on Be and Exist isn't as strong as on the last album, 2021's The Trip, so it might not be the album to start with if you are just digging into the Lucifer's Hammer catalog, but it's a solid release likely to offer something to many fans of traditional heavy metal.
