Sol i Exil – Tracklisting
1.Blood Moon 04:25
2.Millennium Phenomenon 05:47
3.Wavelurker 03:40
4.Dödskult Ritual 04:00
5.Children of the Mountain 04:52
6.Growing Horns 03:15
7.Sol i Exil 07:34
Review
Sol i Exil is the new album from Swedish Heavy Stoner Rockers Häxmästaren and sees the band bring a multitude of different based Doom/Stoner Metal tones and ideas to the record. The band add a splice of Classic Doom, Heavy Metal and a more brooding style of Stoner Metal. The vocals range from loud clean vocals to the more aggressive growls and this is only from the excellent opening song – Blood Moon.
Häxmästaren play fast and loose with genre rules and conventions which allows the band to be more on the adventurous and theatrical side. There is a distinct NWOBHM flying through the vocals and it’s a joy to listen to. The music does take time to get moving along but when it does Häxmästaren go off in full flight.
There is a sense of Groove Metal spliced throughout the album with Häxmästaren being superbly creative on songs such as: Millennium Phenomenon, Wavelurker and Dödskult Ritual bringing the best moments of the first half of the album. Häxmästaren play some epic progressive riffs which only endears you to their way of thinking and the musicianship is simply first rate. The production is solid which allows the listener to be front and centre of the action.
The album moves into “traditional heavy metal” territory on the 2nd half of the album but Häxmästaren still have the sense to include a few elements of modern day Doom/Stoner Metal to the overall flow of the album.
Sol i Exil is the new album from Swedish Heavy Stoner Rockers Häxmästaren and sees the band bring a multitude of different based Doom/Stoner Metal tones and ideas to the record. The band add a splice of Classic Doom, Heavy Metal and a more brooding style of Stoner Metal. The vocals range from loud clean vocals to the more aggressive growls and this is only from the excellent opening song – Blood Moon.
Häxmästaren play fast and loose with genre rules and conventions which allows the band to be more on the adventurous and theatrical side. There is a distinct NWOBHM flying through the vocals and it’s a joy to listen to. The music does take time to get moving along but when it does Häxmästaren go off in full flight.
There is a sense of Groove Metal spliced throughout the album with Häxmästaren being superbly creative on songs such as: Millennium Phenomenon, Wavelurker and Dödskult Ritual bringing the best moments of the first half of the album. Häxmästaren play some epic progressive riffs which only endears you to their way of thinking and the musicianship is simply first rate. The production is solid which allows the listener to be front and centre of the action.
The album moves into “traditional heavy metal” territory on the 2nd half of the album but Häxmästaren still have the sense to include a few elements of modern day Doom/Stoner Metal to the overall flow of the album.
Häxmästaren are from Gothenburg AKA “the epicentre of Swedish Heavy Metal” and they do themselves real justice with this album. As Sol i Exil is the type of top-notch album we expect to hear from a thrilling Swedish Doom/Stoner Metal Band. This album delivers on all fronts and deserves to see Häxmästaren gain wider recognition within the scene.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Links:
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