Under the Spell

Under The Spell is the perfect bulldozer of US power metal, and if you have to know one thing about Hexx, that’s enough. That’s not to say it’s necessarily the best album to do it, though if someone said it was, I certainly wouldn’t argue, but it perfectly encapsulates everything you want from USPM and more. For those unfamiliar, Hexx was given birth as a fast as hell band from San Francisco that formed in 1983 and almost immediately put out a really good speed/power record, No Escape, on Shrapnel Records the following year.

Despite that though, Hexx had yet to leave a heavy mark on metal canon. Quickly after the release of No Escape, Hexx took two steps- they recruited a new guitarist, Clint Bower, and a new vocalist, Dan Bryant. Finally, the Hexx formula was complete, and Under The Spell was recorded soon after in 1986.

From the first couple of seconds on the album, you’re slaughtered by endless riffs; there are no long intros, nor cheesy interludes, and despite it being a “power metal” album, the vocals are never left to carry a weaker section. Bludgeoning thrash is the backbone of Under The Spell, but it’s no more than that. Many bands in the ‘80s that thrashed were afraid to deviate from that, but Hexx knew that variety is the spice of life, and despite an uncompromising fierceness, that seeps through every song. At least a third of the album is based on mid-tempo pieces or even slow sections, each of which is perfectly timed to prevent monotony.

On songs that are faster, each is built on powerfully by sections of speed metal, gorgeous melodies, and the expected Shrapnel Records annihilating solos (though they never get nearly as over the top as some Shrapnel stuff!). Each song is incredibly memorable, each song has enough riffs to satisfy anyone with ears, and most of them are fairly unpredictable on top of that, keeping your attention riveted to the album. There’s no tempo slog where everything falls into the same groove, and even in most songs you’re unlikely to find more than a couple similar riffs strung together. Solos aren’t done over placeholder riffs, and the choruses are all powerful enough to level nations- it’s as catchy as it is well written, which is uncommon.

Another point of note is the absolutely insane vocal performance that Dan Bryan put on here. His control is as phenomenal as his power, and his willingness to abandon said control to scream out his passion is just as stunning. When he wants to be a bit more tender (which admittedly is rare on this record), he can be, but most of the time Mr. Bryan is wailing away with the abandon of a runaway train. On almost any other record, he’d be by far the standout, and it’s only on this one that someone of his caliber can blend perfectly with the band instead. This sense of interpersonal harmony is what lets Under The Spell come together as the talent backing each instrumental role match each other perfectly without conflict.

The last note that I really have is to say that the production suits the album well enough, despite not necessarily being phenomenal. Some people complain about it, but any rough edges in the production suit the rough edges of the music itself. All I care about is that the vocals sound perfect, the guitar tone is amazing, and the drums are cannons. The only major flaw I can really find here is that the album isn’t long enough, and Dan Bryan never did any other metal in the ‘80s before or afterwards. If you love USPM, check this one out. If you don’t, maybe it’ll change your mind.

Originally written for RideIntoGlory.com

“Under the Spell” was the second full-length of Hexx. The band had modified its style. Unlike the first album, “Under the Spell” showed a high proportion of thrash metal. The more aggressive mood was also caused by the new lead vocalist. Dan Bryant was no friend of a harmonious articulation. His barking voice matched with the biting tracks. The band delivered some fantastic tunes. In particular the A side of the vinyl did not lack of brilliance. No matter which song you chose, each and every one made your head bang. The ironclad opener scored with mature riffing and a coherent structure. Although it clocked in at 2.30, it revealed an enormous potential of power and heaviness. The screaming solo guitar at the beginning seemed to imitate the sound of the roaring engines of the “Hell Riders”. The lyrics harmonised perfectly with the offensive character of the tune. “Taking the city / On an iron horse they ride…” – already the first lines were simple yet larger than life. With regard to the alarming invasion of the guitars, any other lyrical content was plainly unthinkable. Even notorious know-it-alls like me had nothing to add.

This opening roll of thunder would have been the highlight of many other albums. But on “Under the Spell”, it was surpassed by the subsequent “A Time of War”. Its murderous riffs and the pounding snare drum generated an atmosphere of war while having the power to atomize the enemy, no matter who it was. At the latest during the intensive bridge, it became obvious that Hexx would be the last battalion on the battlefield. Without doubt, the Californian combat unit could rely on its technical equipment. Its weapons were deadly, the voluminous guitar sound as well as the mighty drums. Not to mention the vocals. Bryant was a worthy successor to Dennis Manzo, the fabulous singer on their debut. The dominant contribution of Bryant was expressive and powerful as well. He fought a duel with the effervescent guitars in an impressive manner. His performance ennobled inter alia the title track which possessed an incredibly insistent and memorable chorus. This tune concluded the flawless A side; an orgy of thrash / power metal came to an end.

It was almost predictable, that the B side would not be able to keep the level of the first five tracks. Its opening track “Out of Control” stood out because of its fiery approach. Straightforward and burning with passion, it did not need to hide itself behind the songs of the album´s first half. “Suicide” was declared as an anti-suicide-song and due to this statement, the powerful track really did not deliver any reasons to commit suicide. Without reaching the brilliance of the previous tunes, “Suicide” impressed with its flattening riffs. Unfortunately, the remaining songs were significantly weaker. The tracks were not as infectious as those on the A side. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that the band was slowly but steadily running out of ideas. The songs were rather acceptable without presenting divine riffs. Their guitar lines were not capable to continue the dense atmosphere and the choruses lacked of catchiness. Some interesting sections like the solo of “The Hexx” could not compensate the aforementioned shortcomings. The less offensive last tunes of the album did not only lack of aggression. The actual problem was that they failed to have a long-term effect due to the absence of remarkable features. It came as no surprise, that they were shamefully hidden on the last positions. But of course, this could not damage the overall impression in a considerable manner. Not least due to the lethal and fulminating mix, the last tunes left a fairly solid impression.

As a consequence this means that “Under a Spell” deserved 100% for the A, but only 75% for the B side. However, this album marks the pinnacle of the band´s discography. The following EP led to a rude awakening. This applied not only with regard to the highly increased musical harshness. Unfortunately, it also went for the quality level of the new tracks. It is therefore no surprise that I recommend a meeting with the "Hell Riders" from the year 1986.

Hexx is an interesting study, if for nothing else than the fact that the band never seemed to find a style they liked enough to stick with. What makes it even more maddening to me is that they seemed to hook on to an excellent formula with their second Shrapnel release, then completely abandoned it for warmed over, mediocre thrash. They quickly lost their way and disbanded. I often wonder if any of the band members look back on Under the Spell and think of what might have been. I certainly do, and I'll bet a number of other fans of this style of music do, as well. Under the Spell is a prime slab of excellent early US power metal, delivered with seething, filthy abandon. It briefly arose from the cesspool of '80s California metal on Shrapnel records, went unnoticed, and then was gone as quickly as it appeared. But nothing can erase its existence, and for those of us who do notice these things, it's fucking fantastic and deserving of a walk down memory lane more than once in awhile...

The whole affair opens with Hell Riders, a mid-tempo masterpiece sporting leather, spikes, and demon biker awesomeness. I particularly love the guitar rhythm on this song. It hits the spot -- a place on the tempo scale where you either open up that right hand and and start whacking away at the strings with force, or you just aren't going to get the right sound. This song does indeed make you think of demons riding into town on Harleys, ready to destroy everything in their path. It's fantastic, lasts less than 3 minutes, and serves notice: Under the Spell has arrived to rape you sonically, and will not be denied. Nobody's going to try to seduce you with a 20 minute epic. This is quick, frothy, roiling leather metal. We're in, we screw the fuck out of you, and we're out. On to the next tune.

The tempo immediately slows with Hexx's ode to air warfare, A Time of War. A few catchy riffs and tempo changes later and I can't help but notice that Hexx is going to keep it interesting. Sometimes this style of music can be boring. But Hexx mixes it up nicely. Everything's suprisingly catchy, but there's always a touch of grit. You can feel the rough edges. There's no perfectly polished production to be had here. There's nothing slick or refined at all about Under the Spell. So many power bands try to perfect their sound, and that's fine. But Hexx sounds like they set up in the studio and bashed this album out in a few days. I say, so much the better. Years later, I don't want to hear the perfect ideal of a band. I want to hear what they were feeling and thinking at the time. Under the Spell gives it to me.

And the songwriting continues with Edge of Death, possibly the best song on the album. The slowdown for the verses is disgustingly meaty and groovy. Makes me want to bash my head into the table. There's nothing special lyrically: you're about to die, and reapers and demons are waiting to drag you to hell. Yeah -- this is fucking metal. What else did you expect?

I want to take a moment to write about Dan Bryant's vocal performance. The man opens up the vocal chords and wails with wild abandon like I've seldom heard, ever. The first thing I noticed about Under the Spell was the quality and recklessness of the vocal track. At times he's screeching at full voice near his upper register and providing a fantastic rough edge to every scream. It's amazing. I actually took a look at his later work (Dan is still performing, his latest act is called The Road Vikings) based on being very impressed with his work on this album. Perhaps predicably, Dan has decided to tone it down a bit. And a good thing too, because I can't imagine anyone keeping up this level of freakish screaming for very long. Nevertheless, it's great to have a vocalist who simply destroys any sense of limitation -- opens up his throat and wails for all he's worth. I dare say Dan's vocals are the singular most defining aspect of Under the Spell, and make the album worth the price of admission. Cheers, Dan -- you tore it up something fierce on this CD!

Guitar-wise I guess you could argue that there isn't anything earth shattering on Under the Spell. Dan Watson and Clint Bowyer are quite capable at their craft, but considering the outlandish shredding being put out on Shrapnel during these years, the guitar work must have seemed mundane. I can't argue these facts, but I can say the work here is done with attitude and a nice rough edge. As I mentioned earlier, perfection is not attempted -- rather, the unpolished side is left in, and I believe the work is better for it. You won't hear Marty Friedman in any of the solos, but you will hear hellish fucking metal blasting through your speakers, and some fantastic USPM riffing on every damn song. I'll take the bang-your-mother-fucking-head riffage over the Shrapnel soloing any day, when it comes down to it.

I've mentioned this before, but I never cared for Shrapnel's productions. I think it dragged down such works as Vicious Rumors' Digital Dictator, Apocrypha's The Forgotten Scroll, and here again it isn't a strong point. My main problem with it is the squeezing of everything into the midrange of the mix. There isn't enough usage of the low and high frequencies. It makes everything sound a little low-fidelity, a little low-tech. Then again, I'm happy that I can actually hear all the instruments. That's a plus. But overall, the production values employed on Under the Spell are a net negative.

Still, nothing can suppress these songs. Every tune has something to offer, from the careening madness of Out of Control, to the double-bass driving rhythm of The Hexx, to the more complex, serene stylings of Fever Dream. This very solid songwriting.

Which brings me to my original complaint. I can't understand a band putting out something like Under the Spell, and then abandoning it for less-than-stellar thrash. To me, you find what you excel at and go to town with it. So Hexx will always remain a mystery to me. This is clearly their one shining moment. Nothing else they did even came close. Not their debut, and certainly not any of their follow-ups. I guess I will just have to settle for this one shining gem. You should seek this out if you enjoy power metal with a nasty, filthy edge. It won't disappoint.

Before Hexx transformed into a hybrid of Bay Area speed and old school death, they released a pair of great 80s speed/thrash/power metal albums that were unfortunately overlooked in the Golden Age explosion. Heavy riffs, memorable chorus hooks and an astute sense of melodic craftmanship are hallmarks of Under the Spell, their second full-length. This honestly fits right in with most of the Shrapnel records roster of the day, such as Chastain or Apocrypha, but the band I'd most closely compare this album to would be the great Vicious Rumors, who share the same guitar heavy styles and harsh but well rounded vocals.

Granted, '86 was a difficult year to stand out, a year in which Master of Puppets, Somewhere in Time, Reign in Blood and others were gaining enormous popularity and reshaping the metal landscape forevermore. But I have to hand it to Hexx, they released a damn fine album. Just listen to the opening track "Hell Riders", with its dominating leads and entirely kick ass, rocking rhythm guitars. The song is fucking intense, you can close your eyes and immediately envision a gang of leather bound rebels riding motorcycles straight out of the abyss while thunder and lightning tear the sky. Extremely catchy song. And it's not the only one... "A Time of War" chugs forth with a great little melody picked through the powerful chords, then breaking out into a catchy sequence of power/thrash rhythm. Dan Bryant's vocals soar over the track as if they were a fiendish collabration between Udo Dirkschneider and Carl Albert. "Edge of Death" cuts like a blade, the guitar tone is excellent, like every other track. "The Victim" crashes through the night sky with a bouncy, juggling rhythm that would be the perfect fit for two guitarists shaking their axes back and forth in syncopation (total Judas Priest-like). For other highlights...well, there's the rest of the fucking album. Have at it!

As I mentioned, the guitars sound superb on this record. The drums are clamorous and crashing, the bass thick and present, and the vocals mesh right in, though they seem slightly loud, it doesn't distract from the excellent tone. Perhaps it's just the impact of "Hell Riders", but I like to think if I ever bought a motorcycle this would be one of the default albums I'd be playing, especially at night on a California highway. Alright, so I'm projecting. And since I'm projecting, I project that if you track down this album you will not disappointed unless you are a fool.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

This crew of San Franciscan hard chargers changed their metal skins a couple times in their career, moving from gloomy Sabbath tones to high energy traditional US metal, eventually landing in a sort of high-tech thrash-death metal sorta deal. They were always good at their trade, but for me their best work comes from their “middle” period, offering up high energy but lyrically mythic material. This album, their second is full of short, sharp songs, all of which use the molten rythym guitars of Clint Bower and Dan Watson to forge their path, topped in no small measure by Dan Bryant and his tremor filled vocal tones. Imagine Judas Priest with a touch less commercial song writing vibe and heavier guitars, a style working best on “Hell Riders” and “Suicide.” A clear highlight though is “The Hexx,” which puts it’s head down and paces like Iron Maiden charging through Tank’s rythym section. A curious signing for the usually shred obsessed Shrapnel label, Hexx never did rise to big money status, an ever changing line up and record label status not helping matters. A hint though: if you like thrash metal at it’s harder and faster end, I’d advise picking up this band’s further Quest For Sanity EP and Morbid Reality album. They ain’t here ‘cuz they ain’t great, but they are good, especially for fans of said style. Think a slightly laid back Sadus, and that’s where Hexx was headed.

Hexx- a band not too many people have heard of. I was one of them too, but I saw a torrent of it, and really, it's hard to go wrong with 80's thrash. After hearing this album a few times, I could definitely see why no one has heard of them. They're not a terrible band, by no means, but nothing sticks in your head.

There are still some good songs here. Edge of Death has a terrible wanking solo, but there's some awesome riffs in this tune, and a simple but effective time signature change. Hell Riders is fast, catchy and fairly effective. A Time of War is probably where these guys hit their peak, with tonnes of great riffs, and a really great hook "Everyone's fighting, what are they Fighting for??" In fact, none of these songs are stinkers. The vocalist isn't exactly the best thrash vocalist ever, but he's got decent range and a good voice that sounds a bit like KEA Hetfield and Halford mixed together.. (There might be closer similarities, but I don't know a huge amount of thrash.)

So while there's definitely some good tunes to be found here, there are some bad bits about this album. The lead guitarist is one who subscribes to the "Play as fast as possible, with as little melody as possible" school of soloing, and many a time a song is dragged down by a blisteringly fast, but completely forgettable solo. THe other simple problem is the lack of great riffs, which makes this album very unmemorable. Don't get me wrong- I'm not saying thrash needs to be super melodic and stuff, but there's absolutely no point writing songs that you don't remember after they've finished playing. Unfortunately, Hexx have a few songs like this. The Victim, Fever Dream and Suicide don't really have anything particularly good, and while most of the songs have a few short parts that are interesting, they can't keep it up for the whole song, which is disappointing.

Basically, I did enjoy this album. The lead guitarist isn't that great, but everyone is competent on their instruments, and most of the songs are good to headbang too. But most of the songs just aren't that memorable. Still, Thrash fans will probably enjoy this album, or at least a bit of it.