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Hamerex are a heavy metal band founded in 2004 by vocalist and guitarist Steve Blower.
The band also consists of guitarist Andy Firth, bassist Marc Hood and drummer Sharif
'Diz' Dyson.
Hamerex are an energetic and entertaining live band, with their influences coming
through in both their music and live shows.
The first of the "Abyss trilogy" starting with "abyss vol 1" at only 4 tracks i can see why there is 3 records coming out!
First off we start with "The extremist" from the instant you press play a barrage of riffs and a low growl vocal hits you and then flows into a Bruce Dickinson inspired vocal and a thrashy groove from the get go this song hits hard and has some tasty solos!! It leaves a good impression on the listener from the start and prepares them for whats to come the song drops into a slower very diamond head sort of groove and ends on a thrashtastic riff! Good start!
Next up is "Broken" after the standard has been set by the first track broken enters a with a steady groovy riff that enters the realms of 90s metal greats from pantera to iron maiden and sabbath, the riffs and song structure is solid but a tad repetitive is my only complaint, enters a long epic guitar solo over the main riff licks in beautifully and then it once again thrashes up into a mental solo like the guitarist is on fire and ends. OK you have my attention.
Now onto track 3 "The dark tower" any relation to Stephen king i wonder? the intro tone and riff spells a more sinister tone comparatively to past 2 tracks and then drum build up into the main flow of the song was very seamless, Vocally the weakest imo seems to have less impact than previous tracks etc but picks up with a solid stabby thrash section which accompanied with some solid drumming and solos i can imagine this is a "pit track" and returns to the vox is a good timing the ending is epic stabby riffs long winded vocal and a solo which wraps up the track nicely. Nice.
Final track "Crucifixion" this track has some seriously sinister groove and is a good end track to "part 1" some solid structure and the vocals are quite different on this, More attitude and the return of the growls, i wish the growls would return more during the tracks give the vocals more dynamic? possibly in part 2, again solid solos and downtime sections that verge into memoriam vibe? random but very welcome! Then proceeds to kick into a solid RIFF and groove than back to memoriam again i like this side of the hamerex allot and the contrast of main vocals makes it stand out during the album. I felt it ended a bit too sudden and if this is part 1 of 3 i thought something epic or atmospheric that binds the parts together possibly?
So overview!
Hamerex caught me off guard and had some solid moments also some moments that did not excite me massively, i felt the growls were very well done within the music but they were to rare and far apart, the main vocals were varied and not one dimensional which was refreshing! some solid work in the drums and guitar, Definitely will catch part 2! 7/10