Release
date: January 18th
2016. Label: Self Released. Format: DD
Black
Titan – Tracklisting
1.Dark
Lord's Crusade 06:22
2.Iron
Riders 05:59
3.The
Pit 05:59
4.Black
Titan 19:32
Band
Members:
Charly
- vocals
Charles
- guitars
Flo
- bass
Ben
- drums
Review:
Hexenjäger
deal in the kind of doom/stoner rock that can be seen as mournful
with its sludgy riffs but also has a pure, attitude laden rock n roll
spirit that soars right through it. The French bands debut album
Black Titan has only four songs on it but in those four songs, they
capture an atmosphere and vibe that is both triumphantly infectious
as well as at time utterly bleak.
Black
Titan starts with the sludgy riffs of Dark Lords Crusade that morphs
into a galloping march that is reminiscent of Pentagram and this
doomy momentum continues throughout as the riffs crash and collide
with the commanding vocals and gets the album off to a great start.
Iron
Riders follows and sounds like an unholy (and hugely appealing!)
union between Kyuss and St Vitus, this a catchy jam with a main riff
that swirls right through the song and casts a bewitching spell over
the track with ease. When frontman Charly bellows "WE. ARE. THE.
IRON. RIDERS" with a minute of the song left, this signals a
full on groove that ends Iron Riders on a high.
The
more traditional doom of The Pit follows in a mournful style but as
with the previous song, it is the guitar stylings of human riff
machine Charles that elevate the song above many identikit doom bands
and these guitar heroics combine to great effect with the wailing
vocals and a solid rhythm section to create an enticing groove.
The
mammoth title track closes the album in style, the bass led intro
creeps like a horror film villain in the shadows and the feeling of
dread is palpable before a mogadon paced groove filters in, and this
in turn sets the tension before a massive bass led riff kicks in and
the soaring vocals join in to the riff led doom assault. Despite the
song being nineteen and a half minutes long, it feels nowhere near
that amount of time as the riffs take your head on a fantastical
journey to the very end, and when the song nears its end, it explodes
into a heavy and groovy jam that won't fail to put a smile on your
face with its sheer quality Before descending into a sludgy pit of
nihilistic dirge and pained singing at the finale.
Black
Titan is an album packed full of solid, heavy set grooves and all
encompassing riffs that will take over your head and Hexenjäger have
both the songs and the riffs to make a lasting mark in the world of
doom and stoner rock.
Words
by Gavin Brown
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