One thing that annoys me with good albums is that often I just can't find much to say about them, other than "buy it now"! :) French Black Metal band Hegemon's second album is such a culprit. I've had this for a long time and each time I sat down to review it, I couldn't come up with a single sentence. Then came the idea of typing this useless dribble just to stall a little more. hehe
This album follows in the same line as the 2000 debut "Chaos Supreme" - the band simply stuck with the same winning formula with no major changes in their sound. In other words, if you liked the debut, you'll like this; If you didn't, you won't like this one either. Despite playing it safe to sound-wise, the band has clearly grown in the songwriting and overall musicianship. The songs are more complex (but not overly so) and the playing is up a notch or two. That doesn't take anything away from the brutality and rawness of the music which is a once again devastating slab of Black Metal from beginning to end... Almost. As in the first album, there's a short acoustic interlude that feels a bit out of place, also it kind of gives more effect to the kick ass beginning of the song that follows it. The vocals are once again a type of low BM screech, nothing out of the ordinary but very well done and a good fit to the atmosphere of the album. What I like of this band is that they manage to give their music a raw feeling while still having quite a rich sound - the kind that reveals something new on each and every listen. Background acoustic parts, "dark" spoken passages, razor-sharp simple riffs all contribute to creating an angry, dark and violent atmosphere. Quite an addictive piece of metal, for fans of not-too-minimalistic Black Metal and definitely not for wimps.
