HEXX — Under the Spell (review)

HEXX — Under the Spell album cover Album · 1986 · US Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Under the Spell" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, San Francisco, California based power/heavy metal act Hexx. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in 1986. The band existed from 1983 to 1995 and released three full-length studio albums in that period. They developed their sound greatly over the years, starting out playing power/thrash/heavy metal and ending in death/thrash metal territory. There´s been a couple of lineup changes since "No Escape 1984" as lead vocalist Dennis Manzo has been replaced by Dan Bryant and the band has also added a second guitarist to the ranks in Clint Bower. The latter would later have a long stint with punked death metal act Abscess (featuring members of Autopsy), and was probably instrumental in steering Hexx in the death/thrash metal direction they would follow just a couple of years down the line.

Like the case was on the debut album there´s nothing on "Under the Spell" that would indicate that such a radical musical style shift would take place soon though. The music on "Under the Spell" pretty much continues the US power/heavy metal style with thrash metal leanings that was initiated on "No Escape 1984". The change on the lead vocalist spot has a major impact on the music though as Dan Bryant is a more raw and butch type power metal singer than Dennis Manzo, who belonged more to the high pitched progressive power metal camp. While Bryant lacks a bit of the sophistication that Manzo brought to the band´s sound, he is a skilled singer on his own. He can do rusty Rob Halford (Judas Priest) type screams and more raw vocals too.

The instrumental part of the music is still energetic, raw, and very well played US power/heavy metal with the occasional nod towards thrash metal. A thunderous rhythm section, great heavy metal riffing, anthemic choruses, and blazing guitar solos, are some of the elements that make up Hexx sound. All tracks on the 10 track, 34:34 minutes long album are between 2 and 4 minutes on length and if you´re looking for adventurous song structures, you won´t find them here. This is generally vers/chorus structured tracks, that are instantly catchy and over before you know it. While the level of sophistication is actually pretty high when giving the album a thorough listen, there is a raw and no frills attitude about it, that´s greatly charming.

The album is well produced, featuring a suitingly raw and organic sound. So all in all "Under the Spell" is a great sophomore release by Hexx. I rate it slightly lower than "No Escape 1984" because of the change on the lead vocalist post, but that could be a matter of aquired taste (I simply prefer Manzo over Bryant), so don´t put too much into this. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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