Hexis - Aeternum

Angry Metal Guy

While Hexis undoubtedly draws much comparison to the blackened hardcore/sludge of Celeste, Oathbreaker, The Secret, and even Amenra, there’s a liturgical element about them. Although its lyrics draw from the well of blasphemy and trod the well-worn path of nihilism, pitch-black reverence settles like cancer in the blood. Hexis‘ first full-length Abalam received a mixed rating in a rare review of the elusive and illustrious Madam X, who praised its corrosive qualities while its followup Tando Ashanti received praise from the illustrious and unforgotten Akerblogger. Five years, an EP’s, two splits,¹ four singles, tours across the globe, and a hell of a lot of growth later, we greet Aeternum.

Contrary to Abalam‘s wayward inconsistencies where it ached, Hexis has continued the path of Tando Ashanti in outright violence with enough atmosphere to stick with you. Gone are the wonky vocals and screechy feedback in favor of a dense wall of sound that fills in every negative space like darkness in an empty confessional. Dissonance pairs with these dense movements, a constant barrage of thick riffs and murderous roars leaving ruin in its wake. While it still takes a trained ear to discern the differences between Hexis and Celeste, Aeternum is an acid bath of corrosive sound, steeped in hardcore, sludge, and black metal, under the ever-watchful eye of scorn and menace.

Aeternum is Hexis‘ longest album, clocking in at forty-six minutes. While this may have doomed past releases, the quartet has succeeded in refining their sound to resemble an environ. The duo minimizes its grind influences to revel in the mammoth simplicity of its overwhelming guitar tone, while adding touches of dark ambient and post-metal blast atop its standard uses of blackened hardcore/sludge. Change-ups like the choral passages in “Divinitas” and “Accipis,” the dissonant plucking in “Exhaurine” and “Amissus,” the desolate tremolo in “Tacet” and “Vulnera,” and the breakneck riffs and industrial noise of “Nunquam” all serve as mileposts in a journey of suffering. “Vulnera,” “Amissus,” and the instrumental ambient closing title track are particularly of note, utilizing contemplative breaks and minor chord progressions to truly emphasize its nihilistic bleakness into a dark house filled with twisting corridors and danger lurking around every corner. Aeternum also serves as a bit of a grower, as the corrosive brutality was difficult to stomach in initial listens, but I came to crave the concussion as I turned Hexis off.

The most damning aspect about Aeternum is that Hexis still does its best impression of Celeste. Although their French compatriots have leaned harder into the blackened sheerness while Hexis has created album that swallows in its unforgiving density, there’s still little about Aeternum‘s songwriting that separates itself. Droning low-tuned tremolo, blackened vocals, and doom-esque plodding rhythms are calling cards for both acts, and especially in regard to Celeste‘s great Assassine(s) released earlier this year, Aeternum can either feel like a bludgeoning cousin or a step down by comparison. Furthermore, while the density is tastefully overwhelming in “Divinitas” and “Exhaurine,” tracks like the brief “Interitus” and “Captivus” do little but add to the monotony, a hunger for pummeling rarely satiated. Corrosion can overstay its welcome at the best of times, and when there are few oases in this desert of pain, monotony remains an issue with Hexis – especially upon first listens.

There are worse acts to emulate than Celeste, and to their credit, Hexis‘ take on crushing density with scathing fury adds a concrete blackness to Aeternum – a darkness that fills every corner of the abandoned church. While I was initially overwhelmed by the wall of sound that saturates each track, I found myself drawn to the pain like a moth to flame. Injecting post-metal patience and dark ambient in a tangible grasp on the darkness, Hexis may not have created an album of the year, but it’s easily the best album of their career. Unforgivingly punishing, spewing sermons of blasphemy and nihilism while injecting just enough unnerving patience, it still feels as though Hexis has not revealed their whole hand yet. And that’s terrifying and tantalizing in equal measure.



Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Labels: Debemur Morti Productions
Websites: hexisband.net | hexisband.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/hexisband
Releases Worldwide: August 26th, 2022

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