When it comes to Death/Doom there are really only two questions. Does it Doom? Does it Death?
Luckily when Bilbao’s Hex are put to this particular Spanish inquisition the answer is a resounding YES on both counts.
This E.P. is only three songs in length but the riffs, bombast, track and indeed title lengths more than make up for and sparsity in numbers. This follows a full length in 2019 “God Has No Name” which I definitely need to check out on the evidence of this trio of mightiness.
“As Darkness Descends Upon You” opens with a piano so lilting and gentle it is a like a lover’s fingers tracing your spine before the riff enters and slaps you on the arse. Foreplay is over sonny Jim.
Big booming doomy riffs spliced together with mid paced death metal drums and tremolo picking this is straight out of the Bolt Thrower playbook – hooky, crushing and lots of fun. Vocalist J has an almighty rumbling death roar which he pairs with some clean almost spoken vocals layered on top in parts to great effect. Rober’s drums are large and clear with the cymbal and bell hits ringing out as a shard of light in the mire. That mire is conjured by Adolfo WB and Jon Ander on guitars and the disgusting low end of M. Akerburu. A right rib shaking noise he makes.
The first track segues directly into “Impending Doom Towards Darkness” which is shot through with Heartwork style guitar lines amongst the heavy artillery bombast. There is a little tribal feel to this number that brings to mind the recent release by Kurokuma and hits me right in the brainstem – yes for me headbanging slowly is just as automatic as breathing. This track has a hip swaying wildness that would make a demonic pole dancer a lot of tips in the Titty Twister. Pulsating riff, a bass that won’t quit and a smattering of those melodeath guitar lines make this a rich feast. J sounds like a beast mid metamorphosis as his voicebox transcends from human to something far more dark and feral.
“…….. And Thus Spoke Darkness” rounds things off with 8 minutes of chunky chugging concrete block death doom. It’s like Bolt Thrower, Paradise Lost and the first Six Feet Under album had a sleep over in a backwoods shack. It rumbles and crushes in equal measure before dissipating into acoustic Spanish guitar and eerie whispers and the sound of crashing waves.
Hex scratch the itchy scab left by the loss of Bolt Thrower but are more than mere copyists. They have an identity of their own and these three tracks evidence great song writing and the ability to throw hooks that would catch many big fish.
(7.5/10 Matt Mason)
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