Review by Daniel for Hexer - Cosmic Doom Ritual (2017)

I hadn’t actually heard of German doom/sludge metallers Hexer before this month’s feature release. Sonny has a habit of identifying interesting & ambitious underground acts in the depths of our The Fallen clan though so I went into the band’s 2017 debut album “Cosmic Doom Ritual” with a positive outlook & have been thoroughly rewarded for it too as it turns out. You see, Sonny & I share a passion for psychedelia & when combined with metal in subtle ways it can create a truly transcendental experience. These sort of records require a great deal of patience though as they rarely give up their full array of gifts without repeat listens. You really do need to be in the right headspace to allow yourself to be engulfed by the swirling atmosphere as repetition is used as a basic building block of the composition & the hooks aren’t always obvious.

After coming fully to grips with “Cosmic Doom Ritual” over the last couple of days, I’ve come to the realisation that Hexer have fooled many people because the use of the word “doom” in the album title has led most online resources to claim the album as doom metal. In reality though, the tone is much more abrasive & the vocals are a lot harsher & more aggressive than you would usually expect from doom which sees the release aligning itself pretty clearly with sludge metal. The use of slowly building post-rock song structures & stripped-back atmospherics is far in excess of what you will find on a conventional sludge release though with the band taking a more textured approach & steering away from the standard riff-fest. For these reasons, I see “Cosmic Doom Ritual” as a post-sludge metal release with references to stoner metal in the psychedelics. It’s very similar to another one of Sonny’s favourites in MSW’s “Obliviosus” in that way & I’m pleased to have discovered that it’s just as successful in the endeavour too. The Ufomammut references that some of you have mentioned are certainly relevant too. There are some faster blasting sections utilised at times only in more of a hardcore context than a death metal one although the vocal delivery does occasionally edge a little closer to the border of death/grind than most sludge front men dare. If I’m being particularly picky I’d probably suggest that the vocals are the weakest component of the album to tell you the truth but thankfully the instrumentation is so engaging that it’s not all that relevant a point. The bass tone is of particular note as they’ve managed to nail that full yet inherently dirty sludge sound to a tee.

“Cosmic Doom Ritual” consists of three lengthy tracks, all of which are of a high quality & possess their own unique character traits which is an important element of any great record. The second track “Pearl Snake” is the real classic of the three & was the deciding factor in me awarding the album one of my elite scores. The way that track builds & develops through various different timbres & atmospheres is phenomenal & inevitably leaves me feeling exhilarated. The other two inclusions are both strong though with the post-rock sections being particularly well executed so I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by this record. I’d recommend it to all members of The Fallen & The Infinite with a taste for a psychedelic metal sound.