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Nunslaughter > Hex > Reviews
Nunslaughter - Hex

Exactly What You'd Expect From Them - 75%

MrVJ, September 13th, 2007

"9 demos, 2 singles, 27 EP's, 21 splits, 8 Best Of/Compilations, 6 live albums and 3 full-lengths. This is what Nunslaughter's career has been; a giant laundry list of death metal. The band has been together since 1987 and I've never seen a death metal band have that many releases, and all of the releases have been ear-drum shattering old-school death metal. When I say old-school death metal, think of bands like Master, Autopsy, Incubus (no, not the shitty pop-rock band), Demilich, Cenotaph, Baphomet, Dismember, and Rottrevore. Nunslaughter have been around long enough to know how to play damn good death metal and over the years they've constantly been proving themselves to be one of the most hardworking bands today, and their live shows are just crazy. Having been through numerous line-up changes, I don't think there's one original member in that band, much like Napalm Death, they still carry on the Nunslaughter name and headbang for Hell's demons. In addition to the awesome band name, you've also got entertaining stage-names for the members. You've got yourself Don of the Dead (Tondra) on vocals, Reaper (Crucified Mortals, The Spawn Of Satan, ex-Nordic Mist) on bass, Zack Of Death (Crucified Mortals) on guitar, and lovely Jim Sadist (The Spawn Of Satan, Nordic Mist, Hideous Mangleus). With these elements at my disposal, I know for a fact that this album is going to make me glad I've got long hair.

Right off the bat we get into “This Is Fucking War”, a quick witted song with fast riffs and blastbeats littered throughout, with Don doing a raspy death metal yell that really gives the music an edge from the early '90s. Most of the tracks on this album are like “This Is Fucking War”, but there's others that don't only rely on speedy riffs. Songs like “Unbaptized”, “To Defile”, and “Slaughter The Heavens” seem to groove along and rarely break away from it, giving the listener something they didn't expect, because I know I was caught by surprise.

You can easily tell that Nunslaughter really took their time polishing up every song on “Hex” because everything is timed perfectly and nothing sticks out like a sore-thumb, but I will say that the title-track, “Hex”, really grabbed my attention. You've got Don and Reaper basically controlling the beginning and then going into their usual death metal onslaught, then again near the end of the song Don and Reaper control once again. I'd also like to pay attention to the lyrics of this song, because they are awesome and very creative.

“With this knot I seal this Hex
You will not sleep, you will not rest
Knots of anger, knots of hate
Discord brings you to your fate.”

There's more to that verse, but that's as much as I can easily make-out from Don. It basically goes through how he puts a hex on somebody, and he does it rather poetically. But that's really the only song that really stands out lyrically, while the song “I Hate Christians” wins for most hilarious on this album.

Nunslaughter is a much better Deicide without the gimmick. Each member believes in what the band plays and it really shows; excellent musicianship and controlled blasts of metal is what makes this band really stand out from all the poser Satanic bands. If you ever get a chance to see Nunslaughter, then put on your withered denim jacket with sewn on band patches and headbang with them until the end of time. There's a reason why this band is on a label called Hell's Headbangers, and it's because they will rock all of mankind straight into Hell, and that's exactly what “Hex” does for me."

Originally written for Metal Stomp