Hussar are a three piece death metal band who pack some added doomy atmospheric sounds to give their music a fierce edge. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, the trio have been a unit since 2018 and already have a live album and EP under their belts before this, their studio debut. With songs which depict conflict and war in all its brutality and the futility of it in terms of the human cost, the music and lyrics certainly reinforce each other and so far, the wider audiences have praised Hussar for their rhythm driven approach. So steady yourselves, we’re about to go over the top of the trench on this one.

“Ritualistic Castration of the Feeble” opens things up with a solid wall of pounding death metal. The deep guttural vocals and pounding music spare no inch of space as it comes in hot. Grinding riffs and deep growls lay the intense atmosphere out and even the brief clean melody which quickly succumbs to distortion does little to take the edge off. It’s just a steady paced behemoth lumbering towards you, club in hand, ready to bludgeon you into submission. Simple and uncomplicated, it is just a barrage of riffs with thunderous bass and hammering drums. There is no need for a fancy lead break, everything works well as is and whilst I am a fan of the lead theatrics, the lack of them on this opening track works just fine. Living up to its title, “Blind Charge Into Gunfire” does just that. Once again, it is straight ahead from the start. The furious charge of the vocals and guitars is akin to rushing forwards to either find cover or become a bullet riddled body. Musically tight, the track surges onwards with little stopping its momentum. The brief stop-start sections do little to detract from the overall feel of the track surging forwards and much like the previous track, it’s just in your face metal. There’s a nice bass break round the halfway point in the track which slows things down and leads into a powerful breakdown section which has some solid drum work going on in there, easing the forward momentum but still keeping it there for when it finally snaps back in for the final run. Again, there are little in the way of theatrics or flair from the guitars and melodic aspects, it is still a colossal beast marching forwards to crush all in its path.

“All-Consuming Hunger” is ominous and heavy from the off. The steady paced feel is paired with a tight and quick descending riff and twisting bassline, both work in tandem to build tension and when the slow, grinding riff rolls in, you know it’s going to be heavy. There is a subtle droning high note melodic sequence over this riff when the vocals kick in, lingering like a wraith ready to strike, it helps build the atmosphere more and come the 2:30 mark it finally launches its offensive. The sudden surge in activity and intensity is a sharp wake up call as it shifts the track into a new phase. Dipping in and out of this faster paced blitz approach, it does little to spare you as this one lumbering giant now seemingly picks up speed and is charging full speed ahead to crush you. Intricate and pummelling, it keeps the pace up, shifting between the tight fills and riff sections to the slower and powerful sections which hammer away. The overarching synth lines add a nice touch with the atmospheric impact and in all, this heavy behemoth of a track lands well to close up the first half of the record.

“Citadel” is a sucker punch of a track. Clocking in at just under 3 minutes in length, it is rapid fire from the off. The dirty bass drives the track on and really rumbles underneath the rapid fire pseudo grind riffing above. Vocally wild with roars and snarls violently lashing out, the track has a real scathing delivery and this is sustained when it becomes a little more refined in the later stages of the track, seemingly sharpening up with the riffs getting tighter and less feral in feel. This then ends with a seamless transition into “Dissonant Weeping of a Thousand Widows”. The gloomy clean guitar melody acts as background for an intricate bass solo to take centre stage before it finally shifts into the distorted guitars. The bass continues its melodic lead with a pretty smooth and clear sound, keeping the focus on it before it finally picks up. A solid wall of chords and churning rhythm section work leads to a more intricate and winding delivery under the raw vocal growls and you can see this track is more technically inclined than the previous one. With its very abrupt pacing, the stop-start feel lets some angular sounding guitar chord stabs and twisting bass lines drive things forwards. Around the 4:30 mark leads to a slowed down section which brings back the lingering cleans and clear bass section, allowing for a reprieve which gradually picks up. The clean guitars begin to shift to distorted, the drums get a little more complex and as the final stretch of the track comes into view, it kicks back in for one last charge.

“A Vile and Hollow Shell” closes the record. Much like all the tracks which came before it, the delivery is tight and impressive. The sharp delivery of the guitars, the rumbling bass and tight drums and the raw growls are all locked in step, giving a controlled feel but still retaining the fierceness and intensity of the music presented so far. The riffs are tight as they intricately twist and coil around each other like a mass of serpents and when we get to the final third, a clean sounding break section surfaces. The ringing guitars add a touch of suspense as they linger in the air with faint cymbal crashes to help give things a bigger sound. This clean section is soon smashed open as a massive wall of death metal comes crashing through once again, gradually slowing down as its momentum grinds to a halt, leaving things to close out with a faint touch of feedback and sustained synths.

With “All Consuming Hunger”, Hussar have delivered a fine slice of doomy death metal. It’s got that huge musical presence with plenty of heaviness and power in the delivery and it might take a few listens at first but when it clicks for you, you can feel the heaviness and the talented rhythmic prowess of the band is something to experience. A solid effort all round!

(7/10 Fraggle)

https://www.facebook.com/Hussarofficial

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-consuming-hunger