Hex Error - Hex Error

by Mark Rowland

published: 13 / 11 / 2002

Label: Growl Wow Records
Format: CD

intro

Promising, but flawed debut album from Hex Error, pioneers of the new metal-core movement

Hex Error fit in nicely with the new metal-core movement that is dominating the underground at the moment: angry, angular, genre crossing, intelligent and heavy as hell. Like all good bands that can be roped into this grouping, Hex Error bring something to the style that's their own, slowing down a bit more than some of their peers, and injecting a heavy dose of Fugazi-style theatricals into their sludgy, discordant noise. In fact, Jason Hatcher's voice sounds so much like Ian Mackaye's at times you would find it hard to believe that it isn't actually him on this album. The incorporation of this Fugazi influence does make Hex error more immediate than metal-core bands like the Dillinger Escape Plan Converge, with songs like 'Genocide City' perfectly mixing sludgy metal-core riffs with angular Fugazi style post- punk .The same goes for songs like 'Corporate Sheep', and 'Little Jar of P***'. Most surprisingly, 'Transmission' uses Slint-ish guitar sounds in its verses, before exploding into a chorus powered by the sort of riff that Slayer would be proud of. It is not perfect, however. Towards the end of the album, the songs sound too much the same, and by the time you get to 'Mission Statement', the penulitmate track, you will feel like turning it off. Don't however, skip it to the last track, 'Killing Fame', which takes in Shellac influences as well as all the previously mentioned elements and mixes them expertly. Hex Error are yet to make their great album, but this is worth buying for at least nine of its twelve tracks.

Track Listing:-

1 Deerlodge Prison
2 Genocide City
3 Corporate Sheep
4 A Little Jar Of Piss
5 Transmission
6 Newspaper's Gestapo
7 The Talking Faces
8 7.62 X 39 MM
9 Mission Statement
10 Out On The Town
11 The World Of Plastic People
12 Killing Fame