CoC : Hellblazer - Promo Summer 2002 : Review

Hellblazer - _Promo Summer 2002_
by: Xander Hoose (4 out of 5)

Southeast German band Hellblazer was introduced to me on this year's Obscene Extreme festival in the Czech Republic. Their performance had aroused my interest, so I was happy to receive this promo for review. _Promo Summer 2002_ features five songs in a groovy uptempo death metal style with obvious grind influences. Opener "Four" kicks off with the mandatory sample from "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" (why do all the groups pick samples from this movie lately?) and then "Foul Is Fair and Fair Is Foul" shows what this band is best at. Two vocalists, fast guitar riffs and insane rhythms -- this brooding blend of music sounds very interesting as well as diverse: some of the guitar work in "Born to Beg" even reminds me vaguely of CSSO. The downside of this promo is the lacking production. The mix is very raw and doesn't do justice to the guitar sound at all. With a proper production, Hellblazer might be one of the better things Germany has to offer, alongside Crack Up and Disbelief.

Contact: hblzr@web.de

(article published 1/9/2002)