In Hollywood, there’s this old tradition that film studios dump their worst movies in January, because nobody will really notice them anyways. This approach has also been applied in other forms of media, but it seems that the Luxembourgish metal scene doesn’t apply it to their release philosophy, because I can’t really think of a bad January release. With today’s candidate being no exception. Hexeen is a fairly mysterious new band that chooses to remain anonymous and despite doing some detective work I haven’t really gotten any further than identifying one member. Either way, their debut EP Hexeentanz was released a few days ago and I want to tell you a bit about it!
The quintet plays black metal that I would put into the more modern part of the genre, without it being avant-garde or symphonic black metal, but there is enough grit to the sound that it never feels artificial at all. When I first listened to the five songs, the opener stood out to me immediately, especially when the first chorus ended with the lyrics “nothingness is my God!”, I had to smile…both because it was totally cliché, but also because it was so well executed. Coupled with the really, dare I say, catchy main riff, I knew I was in for a good time.
Something that I don’t remember being on a Luxembourgish black metal record in the recent-ish past is a synthesizer that rounds off the few tracks that it’s on quite nicely, and manages to never be obtrusive, especially at the end of the second song. The third song on the other hand delivers a true drumming stampede with blast beats and double bass barrages to satisfy every headbanger, whereas on the other songs they’re a bit, really just a bit, calmer and with a bit more groove.
The instrumentals are overlaid by a terrific performance by the vocalist, who goes all out on all the songs but most noticeably on the closer where you can practically cut the despair with a knife.
At just under thirty minutes, the EP is perfect for a daily commute and it will put you in the right mood for these cold and wet weeks ahead of us. So be sure to check out Hexeentanz on Bandcamp and if you want to be among fellow black metal lovers, head to Rocas this Saturday where Hexeen will host a listening session along with a live concert by Inzest and Dreadnought!