When I gave this album its first listening session, I hadn't looked into the info yet, and the thing which immediately came to mind, is that they didn't sound like an Italian band at all...which isn't that surprising, as the band hails from Vänersborg – Trollhättan, a place some 88 NNE from Göteborg, Sweden! Now, this immediately also sets this Hex apart from the bands already known by that name : a Black Metal act from El Salvador (founded in 2008 and still active, having released so far a 2010 demo and 2011 EP – possibly currently going under the name Bloodstone), a Black/ Death Metal one-man project from South Orange County, CA, USA (started in 2007 and still active, released 5 demoes to date, 4 of which during 2010), and a progressive Metal act from Chicago, Illinois (USA – active state unknown, released one full-length album in 2003)!
Sweden's Hex, who describe their music as “...some kind of mix of Metal, Hard Rock with a little touch of industrial elements in the form of samples and keyboards...” (a very appropriate description indeed!) were founded on Oct. 1, 2011 by 4 musicians who already had some experience in the music scene: lead singer Jonas Hygren (formerly of Woe), guitarist Jörgen Swärd (Iron Whores), bassist Jerker Johansson (Burning Angel) and drummer Micke Backelin (of Lord Belial). That line-up got a small alteration when in March 2012 Jerker decided to switch to rhythm guitar, and leave the bass duties to new inductee Timo Hagström (formerly of Chaos Ex Nihilo). With the line-up now complete, the quintet started composing songs and playing gigs, working up a set of songs (ideas for which apparently came from Hygren in the first place) which would eventually end up on this self-titled debut full-length, for which the guys managed to get a publishing deal with Italian label logic(il)logic. Following the release, namely in June of last, the line-up went through another small change, when the drummer and band came to the mutual agreement to part ways, as the first wanted to concentrate more on his main band, Lord Belial. The remaining foursome have since recruited Claes Sundström (formerly of Confidence, now still with Epic Future).
Which brings me back to the album's material, and the fact that the description given above is correct, but needs added details. You see, whereas the music IS somewhat removed from Black and/or Death Metal, some elements (the dark side, mainly, in the frm of down-tuned riffing) of those sub-genres nevertheless crept into the whole, and it shouldn't be a surprise that the band's sound has been compared to the likes of Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and such like. Lyrically, the guys tap from the B-movie horror source, which gives the band a face of its own! Both songs posted in the music player at (www.) logicillogic.net can also be found at (www.) facebook.com/hexweb and (www.) reverbnation.com/hexweb, but the latter two have two additional songs. For some dark reason, the two videos originally posted were removed. Ach well...! The band also has a website of its own (www.) hexweb.se, but at the time of checking that was still under construction.
Bottom line...if you're into catchy Hard Rock based Modern Metal with slight Industrial touches (darn...ya gotta lóve those samples and added keyboard lines, man!) and gloomy lyrical content, then this will be quite up your alley! I assure you it's something I listen to with quite some pleasure...and I ain't easy to please, really!