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HESSIAN
Mercenary Retrograde

Urtod Void (2018)
Rating: 7/10

Looking like some dust-covered and long lost gem of the mid-80s, Hessian’s sophomore outing comes loping out of the bejeweled kingdom of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-styled madness with an interesting vocal approach and slightly unorthodox structures.

And it’s these details which leave me scratching my head, unsure as to where I sit with the dramatic croons which come with a sort of early 80s Goth’ meets doomy essence of drama. This is especially evident on opener ‘I Wish I Was Dead’, which has a peculiar feel throughout as the combo – with rather tepid notion, but hints of grace and steel – maneuvers with intriguing yet all to slow fashions.

There’s always that strong odor of medieval metal about Mercenary Retrograde – the guitars exuding a smoky blackness – and yet which somehow leave me aching for more pace. But as Angus McFarland bemoans “I wish I was dead”, I can’t help but let out a giggle.

‘Skull Ring’ harkens back to an early Iron Maiden chime, that classic cold steel gallop is as basic as it gets and those warbling vocalizations seem to take the fizz out of any sting applied by the percussive trundle and those nifty yet familiar riffs and leads. It’s good, musty metal with a thick castle stench about its stark bass-lines and murky riffs which chug nicely.

With track titles such as ‘Leg Puller’ and ‘Dude Messiah’, and at times some bizarre instrumentations (check out the jazzy, lounge vibe of ‘Skull Ring’s’ latter stages which brings to mind Thin Lizzy too), there’s some interesting angles provided here and you never know what’s coming next. I’m surprised then to find out these guys are from Portland, Maine and not some obscure European abode nestled somewhere amongst the mountains of dooooom!

‘Leg Puller’ is a straight up edgy rocker with odd, punky tones, especially in the vocal, while ‘St. Leopold’ expresses itself like some Goth-cum-new wave 80s trickle of strangeness complete with effective organ and nice lead work, and there’s no doubting McFarland’s storytelling talents as he speaks of a “black velvet sky”. Meanwhile, the deep, black doomy chug of ‘The Viper’ is infectious and odd.

There’s also no real shock then that we get a cover of The New Order’s ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Soldiers’, bolstered magically by Greg Souza’s percussion and the bass work of ‘Michael Pearce. But it just keeps the unusual stylings going; Hessian clearly operating in some separate universe whereby NWOBHM designs successfully flirt with punky, Goth and long-archived and forgotten David Byrne (Talking Heads) rambles up front.

Yes, Hessian is a strange brew indeed and their new effort is one that may alienate a few, but I for one find such expressions engaging.

Neil Arnold

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