Sometimes Ryan Hex Asks You to Review His Shit. You Oblige.

It's no secret that Hex Records is a long-running favorite of mine. While things have seemed a little slower out of the Hex camp the last few years, the pace is picking up, with three releases that are dropping very soon. Support one of the good guys.

Dialysis “Abastab”

I give my 100% sealed guarantee that you have never heard anything quite like this. The Syracuse crew offers up a dozen tracks of hyper speedy grind punk accented by funny samples, little electronic bits, and horns, all topped off by Hex’s vocals. And damn, those vocals. The Hex vocal stylings range from his seemingly natural Colohan-esque bellows to all forms of barking, growling, hollering, and damn-near rapping (see “Things I Like About This Place”). It’s an entertaining ride for sure, one I’d love to absorb in a live setting. My only complaint is that the instruments are too low in the mix, but this records’ true charm is in the vocals, so it’s probably best that way.

Bleak “We Deserve Our Failures”

If you pine for the early-mid 2000’s when bands like Premonitions of War, Architect, The Network and Hex alumns Engineer were fusing the power of metallic hardcore with the artistry of noise rock into a pummeling wall of sound, well then here’s your band. There’s enough nasty chords, evil pinch harmonics and inhuman screaming on this thing to more than make up for the relative lack of this style that’s been out there the last decade or so. While most of the record stays in mid-paced territory, the ten minute epic “Eternal Silent Darkness” starts things out sparse and quiet before building into the monstrous dirges that close the record out. They definitely do the style well, so if your inner 2005 is calling, give this thing a spin.

Ex-Breathers “Stand Still”

While the Dialysis and Bleak releases harken back to the early days of the Hex catalog that were rooted in the heavier side of the DIY scene, the debut track off the forthcoming Ex-Breathers release represents where the label has resided more recently. Mixing noise rock, post-punk and a cool sense of swagger, this song teases at what is sure to be one of the most interesting records of the year. And if the part that starts at 2:10 isn’t the closest thing you’re gonna get to a Fugazi reunion in 2015, then I’ll be damned. You can check the song here: http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2015/09/02/436660477/vikings-choice-ex-breathers-stand-still

Pre-order for the Ex-Breathers and Bleak records are up here: http://hexrecords.bigcartel.com/category/lp

You can watch a video for "Things I Like About This Place" by Dialysis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmEM9_-7WIE