Hex A.D.‘s records are no easy fare. And that makes them a bitch to review. But somehow, both Astro Tongue in the Electric Garden1 and Funeral Tango for Gods and Men ended up with highest praise over at the RMR office tower. I guess, some of the old geezers of the review crew have a soft spot for overly complex gritty retro rock with a penchant for Nikola Tesla’s musings. But it’s of course not that simple.
And speaking about complex. This time Hex A.D. got themselves a real thorny theme. Delightful Sharp Edges talks about genocide, no less. A mighty concept that can literally drown an album project with its almost infinite breadth and dangerous emotional pitfalls. So, Hex A.D. wisely kept the scope narrow and discussed three cases only. A record in the form of some gruesome triptych of atrocities. There you go.
But fear naught. The band didn’t suddenly lose their marbles and move to wild soundscapes unheard of in the lands of Hex A.D. Instead, Delightful Sharp Edges builds much on the downturned, mid-tempo grind its predecessor became famous for. Cranky, scratchy 70/80s style rock with a doom streak. Burly riffs, often excellent cathedral solos, mellotron, and oldish Hammond organ sounds with drumming harsh enough to split the sky open. On top of all that comes Rick Hagan’s often slightly rusty croak, sometimes crooning and sometimes overly loud. But all those vocal gymnastics are always straight on point. Not an easy feat to achieve on a theme like that one.
The RMR crew halfway expected an abundance of growls. Because, you know, aggression. And while most bands would have wildly charged down that road of damnation, Delightful Sharp Edges doesn’t contain a second of it. And that’s a (very) good thing. Instead, Hex A.D. opted for delicate sampling. The infamous typewriter with the mighty voice of some führer screaming in the background, a woman chanting away on a boat (The Memory Division), and sounds of the scary train of doom (Når Herren tar deg i Nakken), to cite just three examples.
And those delicate samples morph into a disturbing yet richly colored amalgamation of the storyline and a sometimes refreshing flow. This is – after all – a true concept album. Thus, you won’t find greenish ogres beating Hex A.D. sound into you the Neanderthal way. It’s all deceptively genteel until the friggin’ rocks from memory land hit the back of your head.
But – Delightful Sharp Edges ain’t about sugar-coating the unspeakable. It’s all about pretty snazzy songwriting and a neat arrangement that won’t hide its bite. The band also boldy slammed a first track – The Memory Division – of some 13 minutes right on top of the tracklist. A pretty snazzy track that’s, however, often too Pink Floyd than is good for it. The groove-laden and well-paced Murder in Slow Motion should get you a pretty good idea of this here record. What else? After a weak start, Radio Terror really got in our good graces with its African drums suddenly usurping the soundscape.
Yet again, the B-side of the album often lacks the aforementioned bite and energy we found earlier. Not at catastrophic levels, but we found ourselves somewhat carelessly glancing over the undeniably neat material. It may also be that the densely structured production leads to a case of sensory overload after a while. And that’s a pity because tracks like The Burmese Python truly don’t deserve a wandering mind.
That said and similar to Funeral Tango, Delightful Sharp Edges won’t garner much love with the hard-boiled rock aficionados or the grizzled metalheads looking for some quick fix of steely alloy in the moshpit. Also, the piece ain’t anywhere near the famed Astro Tongue in that woozy style many metalheads latched onto so desperately. Instead, there’s much more alignment with Funeral Tango and you’ll find a ton of Hex A.D.‘s home-grown brand of grinding rock. All of that comes with pretty excellent and delicate coverage of a decidedly tricky concept. I daresay, many a band would have miserably shipwrecked on such a mighty theme. Or – failing that – overloaded the album with a ton of harsh, rough-hewn sound.
Ultimately though, Delightful Sharp Edges works with an ever-changing jambalaya of moods, rough rocky passages chasing weird ambients, thoughtful injections of sounds, and loads of downturned red-hot Psychedelic Rock with a doomy taste. You won’t find speedy rock acrobatics, no urge to burn off your socks with an overwhelming wall of sound, and no anal antics to capture your attention. But you will get an often gritty piece of rock that savvily tells a story of three different incidents of genocide. Harsh truths nicely wrapped in artsy song smithing? Quite. Until razor-sharp rock will cut you with its unforgiving bite. Thus, put on some body armor before hitting play, this is dangerous ground.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Apollon Records | Web: Facebook (band)
Release Date: 12 May 2023
- Somebody please explain to me what an astro tongue is. Seriously. -Ed.-↩