Hexis – XII

Band – Hexis

Album – XII

Country of Origin – Denmark

Genre – Blackened Hardcore

Release Date – September 29th, 2017

Label – Crown & Throne LTD/Moment of Collapse/Truthseeker Music/Division Records

Author – Hayduke X

Sixteen minutes of violent madness. That’s what you get from XII, the recent release by the Danish band Hexis. Crawling forth from a nightmare moste foule, the five tracks found herein are pitch dark, vile, and terrifyingly dangerous. Out less than a year after their sophomore full length, Tando Ashanti, this EP takes all the menacing horror of that release and distills it into it’s most malevolent form. Some bands require gore, violent lyrics, horror themes, or other gimmicks to inspire fear. I have no idea what Filip is screaming about, nor do I need to. The atmosphere created is all that needed for fear to creep forth.

How is this done, you might ask? First and foremost, it’s the guitar tones and riffs. I’m not sure what the guitars are running through – I’m not a gear guy – but the tone created is immediately ominous. Sometimes tremolo riffing can create melancholy or even wonder. Not here. On this release (all Hexis releases, really), the riffs are a weapon of mass destruction, cutting through any sense of well being. Behind them, the drums and bass combine to create an inevitability. Whatever it is that is creating this senses of dread, it’s coming and there is no stopping it. Over top of the waves of horror are Filip’s vocals. Full of hatred and bile, they are a force unto themselves, cutting and hammering their way through your psyche.

Often billed as blackened hardcore (which I sort of get…there are some musical choices made that are more hardcore than black metal), Hexis is so bleak, dangerous, and dark that I think they fit more in the black metal genre. This particular release is compact and vicious, a concentrated hit of nastiness for when you need a quick fix.

Recommendation:  It’s Hexis.  Of course you should buy it.

Rating:  4/5