Hexis – Abalam
After a couple of EPs and splits ‘Abalam’ is the first full length from Danish dark power outfit Hexis. They combine the darkness of black metal with the power of hardcore. I hear you thinking about The Secret and Celeste. These two are the perfect references together with the everlasting destroying machine Anaal Nathrakh.
Listening to the thirteen furious songs roughly at first didn’t do it for me. Yes this is heavy, powerful and intense, but the songs weren’t anything new. Over time the razor-sharp black metal riffs and screams more and more are sliding through my wrists. Most of the songs are just full throttle and set up a wall of sound. Grasping for air is possible in the title track but not for long as we continue this machine gun battle. The recurring guitar outbursts create a transcendental state if you don’t give up halfway.
Ending song ‘Inferis’ is slower and the cooling down for Hexis. Lots of feedback and doomy parts are ending the ride of the Prince of Hell and his female face. The lyrics of the ‘Abalam’ are al concentrated on this demonic concept. The artwork is based on a demonic ritual based on inverted crosses and fear according to the anxious faces in the booklet. It’s the perfect visualization of this blackened soundtrack where you have the constant idea to run for your life in a claustrophobic tunnel without light and endpoint in sight to feel safe.
This blackened hardcore outfit is not for the faint hearted. Let’s see how this band erupts on a total dark stage, preferably in venue similar to a dungeon.
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