Review by Greg on November 27, 2023.

There's literally no beating around the bush when introducing this band to people. Thrash metal with an overabundance of solos is a niche in the whole retro-thrash panorama that really deserves my attention, and Hexen's debut State of Insurgency is somewhat widely recognized as one of the finest examples of it. So, if you're still new to them, what else can be said? It's simple: if you always begged your favourite NWOTM band to incorporate more elaborate solos, or just more of them, in their music, this is gonna be your go-to stuff (unless said band is Terrifier or Exmortus – in that case, why are you even asking?). It's the wet dream of every headbanger who ever touched a six-string.

Seriously, leads sure don't pop up at every corner like the said Exmortus are used to, but when they do, oh boy – the skill on display is immense. I still can't fathom how every Hexen member, except for the energetic drummer Carlos Cruz, could have severed their ties to the metal world for nearly 10 years after the project here examined came to an end. In a scene saturated with promising acts doomed by mediocre guitarists, I can't think of a band who wouldn't at least try to hire these shredders (and their fellow bassist, more on that later) to improve their level, except for the aforementioned two. And yet Ronny Dorian and temporary member James Lopez also exhibit an ear for melody like few thrash virtuosos (among the already few at all) can sport, like the endings of 'Past Life' or 'Seditions in Peacetime', or the entire 'Desolate Horizons' where Cruz's acoustic guitar parts confirm us that talent, in all likelihood, overflowed in material form out of Hexen's whole lineup.

Except for... the vocals?

It's a complaint that I can understand, Andre Hartoonian's delivery may seem slightly amateurish and even sporadically out of tune at a first hearing, but his deranged accent grew on me with time and, frankly, I can't think of a more suitable voice to recite lines like:

The evil brews, a new plan arrives
Slowly as the media settles back down
Another explosion will soon shred the town ('Blast Radius')

Ceased their bodies to exist
Severed the legs so they couldn't run
I told the victim's families
That I had fucking fun ('Gas Chamber')

Speaking about lyrics, they are another factor setting Hexen apart from the whole neo-thrash scene. Not only State of Insurgency is a loose concept album about terrorism, a pretty original theme if I ever saw one, but more topics are touched and all of them are covered with brilliant and interesting writing all the way through. Not to mention that 'Past Life' may be the most badass song beginning with a phrase like 'This is a song for the grimly depressed' ever made. Jokes aside, there's also room for a science fiction adventure ('Knee Deep in the Dead'), the detailed description of a nightmarish asylum ('Bedlam Walls'), and even some hints of the philosophical direction pursued by the follow-up in 'No More Color'. Bad luck Hartoonian discarded his vocal style for the subsequent – and, sadly, last – effort Being and Nothingness, but I recognize the music on display there surely needed something else.

I also loved how Hexen refrained from opening the album with their best and most violent song (okay, here it's at second place but...), yet again in complete counter-trend if compared to the scene, by contrast starting with 'Blast Radius' which feels more like a prelude to devastation, sitting comfortably in its mid-paced approach yet simultaneously showcasing everything they have to offer (with a bass solo to round it off). It's no easy feat, you know? Slower songs, mercifully, are not a rarity on State of Insurgency, with the other best examples being 'Chaos Aggressor' (with another acoustic intro and then a buildup to verse heavily reminiscent of Kreator's 'Riot of Violence', always a plus in my book) and the spartan, yet fearsome, 'Mutiny and Betrayal', both obviously sped up by the always impressive soloing in the middle. The aforementioned 'Gas Chamber' and 'Seditions in Peacetime', as well as the title-track, show instead Hexen at their most headbangable-selves. It shouldn't really come as a surprise by now, but the latter's chill-inducing second half contains also one of the smoothest lead sections you'll find in coeval records, before a monstruous dissolvence outro... there is brilliant stuff wherever you look.

I, just like many others before me, appreciate when a band can keep an album's length short, a fact which usually implies that they stood more focused from beginning to end. State of Insurgency just does the complete opposite, and it's perhaps even more admirable because of this. It may be also worth noting that there's only one new song here (the title-track), while the others are all re-recorded from the previous demos; in any way, the overall quality is satisfyingly consistent to the point that you probably didn't even notice this fact before reading this sentence. Hexen admittedly had lots of killer songs that didn't deserve to remain relegated to minor releases (taking advantage of this claim for a shout-out to the amazing 'Heal a Million... Kill a Million' which instead didn't make the cut). With that being said, if you think that 56 minutes are still a bit too much for a thrash album, you may want to exclude a couple songs from the playlist (mine are usually 'Knee Deep in the Dead' and 'The Serpent'), but each one of them is worth at least some spins, you can have my word for it.

Revival thrash just doesn't get better than this – arguably with the only exception of Fog of War's marvelous and virtually unreachable Here Lies Humanity, but this one comes pretty damn close. Everything else is simply doomed to stay behind the scenes every time this beast starts playing.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Greg on November 27, 2023.

There's literally no beating around the bush when introducing this band to people. Thrash metal with an overabundance of solos is a niche in the whole retro-thrash panorama that really deserves my attention, and Hexen's debut State of Insurgency is somewhat widely recognized as one of the finest examples of it. So, if you're still new to them, what else can be said? It's simple: if you always begged your favourite NWOTM band to incorporate more elaborate solos, or just more of them, in their music, this is gonna be your go-to stuff (unless said band is Terrifier or Exmortus – in that case, why are you even asking?). It's the wet dream of every headbanger who ever touched a six-string.

Seriously, leads sure don't pop up at every corner like the said Exmortus are used to, but when they do, oh boy – the skill on display is immense. I still can't fathom how every Hexen member, except for the energetic drummer Carlos Cruz, could have severed their ties to the metal world for nearly 10 years after the project here examined came to an end. In a scene saturated with promising acts doomed by mediocre guitarists, I can't think of a band who wouldn't at least try to hire these shredders (and their fellow bassist, more on that later) to improve their level, except for the aforementioned two. And yet Ronny Dorian and temporary member James Lopez also exhibit an ear for melody like few thrash virtuosos (among the already few at all) can sport, like the endings of 'Past Life' or 'Seditions in Peacetime', or the entire 'Desolate Horizons' where Cruz's acoustic guitar parts confirm us that talent, in all likelihood, overflowed in material form out of Hexen's whole lineup.

Except for... the vocals?

It's a complaint that I can understand, Andre Hartoonian's delivery may seem slightly amateurish and even sporadically out of tune at a first hearing, but his deranged accent grew on me with time and, frankly, I can't think of a more suitable voice to recite lines like:

The evil brews, a new plan arrives
Slowly as the media settles back down
Another explosion will soon shred the town ('Blast Radius')

Ceased their bodies to exist
Severed the legs so they couldn't run
I told the victim's families
That I had fucking fun ('Gas Chamber')

Speaking about lyrics, they are another factor setting Hexen apart from the whole neo-thrash scene. Not only State of Insurgency is a loose concept album about terrorism, a pretty original theme if I ever saw one, but more topics are touched and all of them are covered with brilliant and interesting writing all the way through. Not to mention that 'Past Life' may be the most badass song beginning with a phrase like 'This is a song for the grimly depressed' ever made. Jokes aside, there's also room for a science fiction adventure ('Knee Deep in the Dead'), the detailed description of a nightmarish asylum ('Bedlam Walls'), and even some hints of the philosophical direction pursued by the follow-up in 'No More Color'. Bad luck Hartoonian discarded his vocal style for the subsequent – and, sadly, last – effort Being and Nothingness, but I recognize the music on display there surely needed something else.

I also loved how Hexen refrained from opening the album with their best and most violent song (okay, here it's at second place but...), yet again in complete counter-trend if compared to the scene, by contrast starting with 'Blast Radius' which feels more like a prelude to devastation, sitting comfortably in its mid-paced approach yet simultaneously showcasing everything they have to offer (with a bass solo to round it off). It's no easy feat, you know? Slower songs, mercifully, are not a rarity on State of Insurgency, with the other best examples being 'Chaos Aggressor' (with another acoustic intro and then a buildup to verse heavily reminiscent of Kreator's 'Riot of Violence', always a plus in my book) and the spartan, yet fearsome, 'Mutiny and Betrayal', both obviously sped up by the always impressive soloing in the middle. The aforementioned 'Gas Chamber' and 'Seditions in Peacetime', as well as the title-track, show instead Hexen at their most headbangable-selves. It shouldn't really come as a surprise by now, but the latter's chill-inducing second half contains also one of the smoothest lead sections you'll find in coeval records, before a monstruous dissolvence outro... there is brilliant stuff wherever you look.

I, just like many others before me, appreciate when a band can keep an album's length short, a fact which usually implies that they stood more focused from beginning to end. State of Insurgency just does the complete opposite, and it's perhaps even more admirable because of this. It may be also worth noting that there's only one new song here (the title-track), while the others are all re-recorded from the previous demos; in any way, the overall quality is satisfyingly consistent to the point that you probably didn't even notice this fact before reading this sentence. Hexen admittedly had lots of killer songs that didn't deserve to remain relegated to minor releases (taking advantage of this claim for a shout-out to the amazing 'Heal a Million... Kill a Million' which instead didn't make the cut). With that being said, if you think that 56 minutes are still a bit too much for a thrash album, you may want to exclude a couple songs from the playlist (mine are usually 'Knee Deep in the Dead' and 'The Serpent'), but each one of them is worth at least some spins, you can have my word for it.

Revival thrash just doesn't get better than this – arguably with the only exception of Fog of War's marvelous and virtually unreachable Here Lies Humanity, but this one comes pretty damn close. Everything else is simply doomed to stay behind the scenes every time this beast starts playing.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Chris Pratl on November 18, 2018.

When you get two heavyweights such as Rogga Johansson and Paul Speckmann collaborating on a project, you hopefully feel a severe rush of excitement as I did. As long as I've been a fan of Paul Speckmann from his bands Master, Abomination, Funeral Bitch and other various bands and projects, I know him to be a man of quality with no shortcuts taken in his music. On the same token, Johansson himself possesses an impressive list of credits from Paganizer, Revolting and into Humanity Delete, not to mention everything in between. If you are an extreme metal fan and are not familiar with either of these men, eternal shame on you for existing at all. 

Sulphur Skies is a death metal undertaking of vast importance and much-detailed scrutiny. When these men assign themselves to projects, it's usually microscopically evaluated by the elitist automatons in the movement, ready to strike down the effort with an uninformed keystroke or predetermined opinion. They seem to get scorn for not recreating the wheel with every release, but a simple standard of quality and dedication always trumps a staunch switch in style to assuage the easily lulled masses too scared to accurately define dedication. Once you are familiar with both of these guys' respective catalogs, you follow for life or your deviate for something easier to dissect. After going through the album once, now thrice for pleasure and measure, I can say that this collaboration is a winner all over. 

What is offered here in Sulphur Skies is a generous amount of death metal speed, slow and crunching groove-inspired volatility, and well constructed vocal patterns. After being battered about with the opener, “Everyone Rots,” I'm not able to settle down for one single second. “Taste the Iron” is a slower entry into ugly brutality as Speckmann growls about suffering within an iron maiden device, a long-abolished and primitive form of amusing torture that still brings a smile to this old man's face. My personal mental illness aside, the next track in “Sulphur Skies” has some of the best riffing around; the true art in death metal guitar isn't vying for some tired technically-advanced foray into flailing pinch harmonics or lightning-fast scale humping, and I wish more musicians would realize this. These riffs and arrangements here are Death Metal 101. 

Some of the really powerhouse tracks here are influenced by many years of tiling a soil long dried up by horrifyingly boring and trite bands attempting to lay new soil to an already rich field. Among those ancient influences, there is no larger champion that Paul Speckmann; his influence has been long felt and disgustingly under-appreciated for too many years. You can most certainly hear some of his moody Sabbath bass influences in the 'slower' tracks, but there's an unmistakable viciousness to the guitar work, especially in “Vile Stench and Decay”, which has some great tonal brashness. While I'm constantly reminded of Revolting and the recent Bone Gnawer EP ala Rogga's guitar work, this only adds to my personal enjoyment because as ugly as it can get, Johansson manages to disfigure it all so perfectly under the caustic shroud of bare-bones rudiment. 

Going into this for the third time in one sitting, I grow more impressed with the level of intensity from this record. Johansson's guitar prowess is becoming something of an underground legend. Sure, some people seem to find his riffs overused and almost obligatory, but there an undeniable darkness that emits from nearly every riff the man produces that settles in your soul and grows like a festering tumor fit to burst. Moving past this euphemistic malignancy, simply put, Rogga himself is long associated with quality. One listen to “The Real Victims” and you might just understand the correlation between good death metal and plasticity feigned for the sake of posturing. There is no technical brilliance here, no over-saturation of production to kill the essence of the album, and no mix-matching of styles foreign to the intended mark. All instruments, while clear and mixed well, do not compete with one another for mock superiority, and that makes the album even more enjoyable. 

For people who enjoy their death metal with a generous meshing of antiquity and modernization, you should really take in this pairing and enjoy the simplicity of one deadly and historical meeting of the minds, and how wonderfully sick they are!

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)