Hessian (Belgium): "Mánégarmr": hardcore and metal, but not "metalcore"

Hessian (Belgium): "Mánégarmr"

A band like Hessian can cause headaches for people who worry about categories and genres because Hessian can be as intense as black metal ("Plague Monger"), as heavy as death/funeral doom ("Father of Greed"), so on and so forth.

Yet that is not what Hessian is.

I think Hessian sounds more along the lines of musicians who love the energy of death and thrash metal, but who are sick to their stomachs of the "perfect" production, the clichés, the retro, the lack of brave mentalities and the whole "we play metal songs about metal and violence" thing.

It's my guess.

They also like hardcore, I think, but they are tired of the breakdowns, the formula, the "thug" imagery, and all the other formulas, like mixing harsh and melodic vocals.

Hessian sounds like hardcore and growl metal, but in the sense that I have been talking about.

Hessian is not easy to get into, for me. I have been listening to this for a while now, maybe months and was thinking that maybe it would click, but it has not and I want to this review out.

They sound heavy, energetic and professional.

Nevertheless, beyond that, I am just not understanding the songs, they are not connecting. Maybe it is the cold, dissonant, post-hardcore, post-metal sounds.

Hessian may be too far out there for me, perhaps. I do like the song "Plague Monger," but that one sounds more metal and it's easier to get.

So, I will just say this: there are younger bands who seem pretty wise, musically, and who sound displeased with the state of metal and harcore, and are trying to see where they can take things now, with their energy, speed and heaviness.

They sound like they have their things together and know what they are doing. A bit too dissonant and post-everything for me and that's the reason why I feel like I don't understand the music very well.

Don't take my word for it. Listen for yourself.

www.facebook.com/Hessian