Hexen - State Of Insurgency
OSM Records
Thrash Metal
13 songs (55:58)
Release year: 2008
OSM Records
Reviewed by Goat

Despite the Edward J. Repka artwork, the new album from little-known Los Angelans Hexen is far from pure Thrash. Sure, it might seem pretty eighties on a first listen, the sort-of-harsh vocals especially rooted in the era, but once you’ve wrapped your ears around all fifty-five plus minutes (!) of music a few times you’ll notice a melodic edge that puts the band in Swedish territory, all in all as reminiscent of old Dark Tranquillity as it is old Dark Angel. What we have here at the very least is a slab of technically impressive Thrash with excellent guitar playing, tracks such as opening ripper Blast Radius keeping you hooked. The bass is quite clearly audible throughout, adding a whole new dimension to the band’s sound, and there’s a melodic edge to the playing that marks this out from the usual beer n’mosh Thrash bands around at the moment.

In truth, there’s very little about this album that isn’t excellent, from the galloping rhythms of Gas Chamber, to the epic overtones of the title track which turns into pure Black Metal at the end, to the frequent guitar solos that are uniformly excellent. Fine, singing about suicide bombers on buses isn’t exactly politically correct, but this is Thrash Metal at the end of the day, and if you don’t crack a smile at the crazed (white) bomber on the artwork, then this isn’t really your genre.

All in all, State Of Insurgency is recommended for the majority of Metalheads out there, Thrashers or no. The length of the album can be a problem - it's doubtful that you'll get through the album in a single sitting - but if you miss the early days of the genre and are disappointed with the current state of Thrash, then Hexen will carve a smile on your face.

MySpace
Killing Songs :
Blast Radius, Gas Chamber , Bedlam Walls, State Of Insurgency
Goat quoted 79 / 100
Other albums by Hexen that we have reviewed:
Hexen - Being and Nothingness reviewed by Bar and quoted 84 / 100
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