Album Review: Hang The Bastard – Sex In The Seventh Circle (Century Media Records)

The opening track, Keeping Vigil nails exactly what kind of band Hang The Bastard are. No nonsense heavy metal riffs with death metal vocals all tied up in a nice doomy package. It’s a great opener with an even better guitar solo near the end, I particular like the way the guitar almost whines…dragging it out to the just the point of annoyance before killing it.

Morrs Tempest intro is as doom metal as you can get with a slow, dark & moody riff leading into tortured vocals. Just as you’re getting used to this the song cuts to just a whisper & the echo of an electric guitar playing before returning to its original format. This is a heavy song, an assault on your ears but something you’ll enjoy every bit of.

Hornfel wouldn’t sound out of place on any doom record. It’s slow & meaty but suddenly speeds up significantly at the latter part of the song. The vocals are a mix of high-pitched screaming, guttural snarls & roars of defiance. It’s the kind of stuff that will divide fans.

A number of random sounds, breathing…something buzzing…a xylophone, make up the brief minute that is The Lesser Key before The Majestic Gathering Of Goetia brings the doom back. The drums are strong throughout but here they really shine sounding like they are being smacked with a sledgehammer.

Mist of Albion soft medley mixed with clean singing comes at as a real surprise & it is quite at odds with most of the album. There are some interesting effects used & it’s not a bad song but at 7 minutes long it overstays its welcome.

The title track, Sex In The Seventh Circle ups the speed metal stakes by exploding out of the blocks & only lets up to let the traditional doom elements get in. It’s an intense listen as is (Reprised), a short vocal-less number that fades away softly.

Absorption opening riff is a catchy as hell but feels out of place when the bass rumbles on & the heaviness kicks in. The vocals are pretty full on but there is a nice change of pace at the end.

The stop-start nature of Beyond The Pale does it no favours but it has a seriously strong chugging NOLA-inspired section that leaves you wanting more of that. Sweet Mother has plenty of doom elements that keep things rolling on nicely even if it’s not exactly the most inspired song on the album.

The final track, Dyad has a really haunting effect that takes all that makes the album great & rolls into a moody & evil sounding end.

(There is a bonus track: Hornfel – Live. The lack of any crowd noise is a bit strange)

A great modern doom album that takes it’s inspiration from the NOLA bands & adds some serious death/black metal vocals. Strong throughout, the songs that fall a little short just lack a killer bite.