RSS Feed


HEXENBRETT
Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter

Dying Victims Productions (2024)
Rating: 8.5/10

As a lover of heavy metal and the numerous spin-off genres it creates it can still be easy to become fed up or exhausted by certain trends. For example, an overload of swampy death metal, a plethora of same sounding 80s traditional metal, or a corny clan of corpse paint-wearing Bathory rip offs. However, on the odd occasion a band can emerge to restore your faith in a genre.

One such act is Hexenbrett, an intriguing duo of Giallo-obsessed black metallers from Europe whose sneering cacophony throbs with the same suspenseful imagery of those unique Italian horror movies they so feverishly worship. The cover art alone is enough to draw you into the 70s occult-driven web whereby psychedelic Satanism cavorts with swinging yet shady sexiness but to a soundtrack of hellish crossfire.

Four years on from 2020 debut full-length platter Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten, this new nine-song sophomore effort continues to zip down formidable and nefarious corridors while from every crack oozes an element of psychedelia. French cult movie maker Jean Rollin, alongside Italian rock band Goblin are also obvious inspirations here as members Josto Feratu and Scarlettina Bolétte dredge the depths Euro cinema trash and entwine such nuances into their wiry mire of blackness.

Opening cut ‘Um Mitternacht’ begins with dialogue before the duo provides a sonic slab of psychedelia mixed with a swirl of classic rock. The drums tumble and shuffle in tandem with a mesmeric flick of axe fuzz before the grisly vocals snap within the jarring cacophony.

This is such an immersive experience as strange cosmic synths drift behind the jarring framework of black metallic snarling. It’s rhythmically engaging and writhing with such sinister aplomb as ‘Dem Teufel eine Tochter’ jolts and sneers with unorthodox energy, punctuated by eerie narration and at times Voivod-esque stabs which toy with Mercyful Fate and Aura Noir.

As the album unravels I feel like I’ve descended, albeit apprehensively, into some network of jagged caverns littered with unseen corners. ‘Imhotep’ sounds like a weird and pitch black fusing of obscure 70s prog rock, epic goth rock and primitive Nordic seething. Closing track ‘Sette Gocce Rosse Su Velluto Verde’ sounds like a bizarre amalgamation of Faith No More, Voivod and 70s rock, while ‘Marisa’ is pure molten metal madness via Judas Priest.

Even if you have no interest or knowledge of European horror movies directed by the likes of Dario Argento and Mario Bava, you’ll still be enthralled and spooked by this veritable feast of the vicious and the visceral. The strange brew of borderline 80s slick speed metal and the deft atmospheric oddness is a joy. ‘La Plese De La Nuit’ is total Goblin worship whereas ‘Leder im Nachtverkehr’ begins like Jake E. Lee on a speed metal trip.

After several spins of this I began to play Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter alongside Philadelphia’s Devil Master, another strange bunch of unorthodox demons who also like to dabble in black metal wizardry. I’m just glad Hexenbrett exists to remind us that genres such as black metal can still offer surprises.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share