Review Summary: A blend of melody, speed, and aggression to thrash your socks off.
Los Angeles based band Hexen have been kicking around since 2003, they have been releasing series of demos since their coming as a band. Only time would tell until they would release their first focused and debut full-length. They announced the final product of their new release in august. The ending result of this was State of Insurgency. But I must say, after listening to this to an extent, this band definitley deserves alot more attention. The new thrash movement has been uprising latley, but this band proves to be one of the most underrated of them. More along the lines of melodic thrash this band proves that thrash has more to offer and can also be highly enjoyable and heavy at the same time.
The new wave of thrash bands have been appearing by the truck load. Offering you your favorite riffs and anger from highly influential bands from twenty years ago. The thrash revival has proven to be quite the success and the gained alot of attention particularly from bands such as Evile, Warbringer, and Toxic Holocaust just to name a few. But what you may ask is where do Hexen fit in this? The answer is simple, they don't. In honest opinion they are one of the bands apart of the thrash revival who don't seem to me as much of rushed success. Most bands that i am familiar with who are supporting this new wave of thrash metal have poked out the shadows so suddenly and gained success almost immediately. Hexen is definitley the most underrated among these bands, their full-length State of Insurgency can explain why.
The album starts off with the heavy offering of 'Blast Radius' showcasing their crushing melodic riffs and their raspy thrash oriented vocals. Second track 'Gas Chamber' showcases some speed metal influences as they blast through four minutes rapidly. Other tracks such as 'The Serpent' and the title track ultimatley show what the band has to offer. The guitars are top notch and the solos are great, the riffs in general are very melodic and at the same time give you the aggression and the fast tempos of thrash. The rhythm section are supringly great, the bass is audible and the drums aren't sloppy and are generally good. The vocals are basically what you'd expect from any thrash band. Very dirty, angry oriented vocals which is not at all bad, but in no way am I asking for anything different.
Overall If you are into this type of genre this band is most definitley worth checking out, it most certainly will be a good additon to your thrash metal tastes. On a side note the chorus of 'Chaos Aggressor' totally sounds like the chorus of Heartwork.
