Filling The Sky...

Hexenjäger - Black Titan (2016)

Last year, we heard from Hexenjäger with their demo, and now they're back with their first full-length album.  The unorthodox doom metal of that demo has matured into something with the same rough outline, but more muscle and riffage behind its heavy churning doom.  Each of the tracks have a nice length to them, leading up to a reworked version of the 20-minute song from their demo (now sadly without the torturous samples that once opened it) renamed to be the album's closing title track, and they get their main melodic thrusts across while luxuriating in the roominess by way of off-shoots, solos, and expanded tune-twisting.
Along the way, they manage to subtly fold in stylistic elements from psych rock, traditional heavy metal, blues rock, and a few other sources, stirring them into the doomy base to excellent effect.  The riffs are of that special variety where they just sink right into your brain, lodge themselves in, and feel as if they've always been there.  As a continuation of the band's demo, it shows them expanding their musical palette while honing their main focus, with clear indications of further goodness waiting to be released.  With a layout that's practically begging to be put out on vinyl by some savvy label (three on the A-side, the big'un on the B), keep your ears up and fingers crossed for this to make its way onto physical format.  But in the meantime, throw some money to the band and pick up a digital copy on their BandCamp, then play it loud and let it get deep into your system.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Black Rainbows, Church of Misery, Disenchanter, Dopelord, Eternal Elysium

Facebook • BandCamp

Hexenjäger - Iron Riders (320 kbps)

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The Mighty Hunters...

Hexenjäger - Demo (2015)

This demo comes to us from Hexenjäger, a new group based in France, and despite their freshness, the group already seems well-seasoned and toothsome, undertaking 20 minutes of doom for their self-titled track.  Despite the French roots and Germanic name, they go with a Spanish horror movie sample to open it up before plunging into the tar-coated and slow-moving main riff, a monster that the band follows relentlessly into darker and deeper regions before meeting their end.  It's a rich strain of doom metal, with sludge in the grit and occasional sharpness of the guitar, some traditional nods from the vocals and bass-tone, and a funeral atmosphere to the pace of the chord-crushing.  One of those big tracks that you want to hear a live treatment of as soon as you first encounter it, "Hexenjäger" battles its own speed down to the bones before eroding away completely.  There's a lot of patience going into the song, and if this is their demo material, there'll be some major head-turning noises to be heard on their future releases.
"Murk" makes up the B-side at a comparatively quick 8 minutes or so, bringing more psychedelic and traditional doom to bear, and it's not until almost half-way through that the vocals are revived for action.  The singer does a great job in both songs, assuming you're not inherently biased against clean singing, and the presumably rough recording conditions don't do much to diminish the band's skill at bringing it right into the song's folds.  Between the two tracks, Hexenjäger have made a great introduction for themselves by establishing how well they can kick ass even at low speeds.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Gallow God, Eibon, Fleshpress, Buried God, Abstracter

Facebook • BandCamp

Hexenjäger - Murk (320 kbps)

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