This “Doom” Metal band from Oulu (coastal town by the Botnic Gulf at the mouth of the river Oulujoki, situated NW & middle of Finland – with over 130,000 inhabitants, it is the 5th largest city in the country, and one of the northernmost largest cities in the world) was founded as a quintet in 2003. With singer Tatu Junno and guitarists Remi Rousselle (also active as live member with F, and former live member of Fornjotr) and Antti Karjalainen (like Rousselle, he was also a live member of Fornjotr, and is at the moment a live member of both F and Bow At The Altar Of The Riff – on the side, he also plays in the bands Blastorm and Sputnik 1957) at the core, the band lost both bassist Lauri Kamula (whom was never replaced) and first drummer Ville Hoikkala in 2005. In 2008, interim skinbasher Ilpo Heikkinen left his seat on the drum stool to current drummer Pete Miettunen.
In their first years of existence, the band produced several demos (2004's 2-track The Doomchild and 3-track Demo II: Hebosagil Sell Out, 2005's 2-track November Reign 2005 and 4-track Studio Live 2005, and 2006's 3-track Hard As They Come), before self-releasing their debut 7-track EP Cosmic in 2007. This eventually led to the release of the band's debut full-length Colossal, through the Kaos Kontrol label, a year later. Also during 2008, the band releases a split EP with Viisikko (issued by the Lambada imprint), on which the guys take a new turn, both changing the vocals from English to their own mother tongue and the distortion pedal for a more organic swamp sound. 2010's split EP with Two Beats Off (Verdura Records) and 2011's 3-track EP Herätys (Kult Of Nihilow) only serve to confirm the band's new style, and are followed by Mind Reality (a self-released split-single release with Throat). 2011 is ended with yet another release, namely the sophomore full-length Ura (Verdura Records).
Over the years, the band only toured once (a 6-date stint in late 2010) and never left Finland, but relatively regularly played gigs with a selection of befriended bands including Mr. Peter Hayden, Vene, Throat, Viisikko, and Baxter Stockman. Foreign acts the band played with are Victims (Sweden, in 2008), Churcg Of Misery (Japan, in 2009), Magrudergrind and The Melvins (both from the USA, and on different occasions in 2010)...and as time passed by the festivals Hebosagil got to play grew bigger as well.
Now, you may have noticed that I stated “Doom” Metal as the band's style in the first paragraph of this here review, and for sure you can take it that at the core of things a deep admiration for Black Sabbath is at the core of this band's music. However, we also discern some Thrash Metal in the offering, and this, in combination with the vocal stylings of the singer, brings in a wacky Hardcore hint. The label puts things as such : “...their manner of exciting is big, loud, penetrating, and hard to the core. From the fallout, the radiometers are detecting remnant radiation from Slayer and Melvins, while the cockroaches may still recognize the brutal beat of Radiopuhelimet end Unsane...”! If that description is still too cryptic for you, scroll down at the label's website (www.) ektrorecords.com for a listening session of the track “Valmis Mihin Vaan”. Haven't had enough? There's a link to Bandcamp for free streaming of the band's material at the band's own site (www.) hebosagil.com.
Personally, I l-o-v-e this, and it is without flustering that I throw Lähtö into my year-lists!