Album Review: Hang The Bastard - "Sex In The Seventh Circle"

Have you ever received a gift in a "fake box"? You get a gift, thoughtfully wrapped in festive paper and you tear it open to reveal that thing you've always wanted; a new play station or an Ipod or whatever it is the kids long for these days. You open the box to expose the true contents... underwear or something equally unsatisfying. Has this ever happened to you? If it has, you'll understand how I felt while listening to the new full length from Hang The Bastard, "Sex In The Seventh Circle".

Promoted as, "...a sonic union of the heaviest Doom, the most righteous Metal, and an undoubtedly old school vibe that is as much Sleep and Sabbath as it is Crowbar and COC", I was excited to hear what was inside.  

First, some background. Hang The Bastard is a British doom/sludge/metalcore band that formed in 2007. "Sex In The Seventh Circle" is their second full length release. The band is a four piece comprised of Joe Nally on bass and vocals, guitarist Sam "Hell" Rice, drummer Simon "Slayer" Grubb and Tom Hubbard on lead vocals.

The album kicks off with the song "Keeping Vigil" and it is a powerhouse. These gentlemen have a terrific sound. The production is fantastic and, as promised, it sounds like Sabbath meets Crowbar with Hang The Bastard's own special twist. It's doom metal to be sure but it's not played as slow as a lot of the doom I've heard lately. It's freakin' HEAVY. The music has a good groove and the riffs are memorable and full of hooks. As you can imagine, I was stoked. My head was bobbing from the first note and I was eager to hear more.

Then something happened... the vocals. Regular readers of my reviews know where I stand on quality vocals. For me, they generally make or break the record. I can get behind a wide variety of singing styles but I really need for them to fit the music. The problem with a lot of metal bands is the tendency to over-growl. You've heard them. They sound like Cookie-monster joined the Riverbottom Nightmare Band and they can make an otherwise good metal album sound ridiculous. That's not exactly what's going on here.

Tom Hubbard has a very unique way of interpreting a lyric. His is not so much a growl as it is a scream. But on this album it sounds a bit like, well, gargling. It's like Sam Kinison under water or Cobra Commander at karaoke. In this reviewer's opinion, the way his voice comes across detracts, rather than enhances, the quality of the record.

Let me stress, the music is outstanding. The drums sound great. The down-tuned guitar has that perfect mix of overdrive and distortion. The bass is deep and full. Truly, it is right on target and has an awful lot going for it. In fact, if "Sex In The Seventh Circle" were an album full of instrumentals, it would shoot toward the top of my favorite albums list.

It's not the style of the singing I take exception to. It seems that the engineer has removed any sign of bottom end from the vocal mix and cranked up the treble and highs. Perhaps it's by design but I think adding just a hint of low end would make a world of difference. But who the hell am I?

As I continued listening, I hoped to the metal gods that track one was just an experiment. Perhaps the singer was using an effect in order to add a specific mood to the song. Maybe "Keeping Vigil" meant drowning or some other artistic interpretation of the song. Sadly, no.

"SITSC" continued with "Morrs Tempest", another rocker that had me hooked until I was again put off by the vocals. Same with "Hornfel" (Hornfel, by the way is "the group designation for a series of contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and indurated by the heat of intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable"). There's your geology lesson for the day.

The track "The Lesser Key" is a minute of sounds including, but not limited to up-close breathing, pigs(?), a mosquito and a xylophone, I think, and it's an interesting, non-musical addition to the album.

Then, right in the middle of "SITSC", I discovered a song called "Mist Of Albion". This track is an oasis in a desert of doom. It's slightly mellower (think "Planet Caravan" from Sabbath's "Paranoid" album) and the singing is, dare I say, pleasant. It has a melody. It is actually SUNG. I notice that the bassist, Joe Nally, also provides some vocals to the album so I'm unsure if it's him singing or Tom Hubbard but, either way, it's terrific.

Actually, I was pleased and a little pissed by "Mist Of Albion". I wondered why Hang The Bastard didn't use this style of vocalization a little more often. It's a heck of a weapon to have in your arsenal.

With the exception of the instrumental "Snake Symbol", the rest of Sex In The Seventh Circle" ended the way it began. Super-awesome music with vocals that I was having a hard time dealing with.

I realize my criticism of Mr. Hubbard and the overall quality of his recorded vocals may be harsh. To be honest, this reaction was my first reaction. As with a lot of albums, the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. With subsequent listenings, I was actually able to somewhat overlook (or under-hear, as the case may be) the vocals.

I also understand that this is just the way some bands do it and I give them credit for being unique. The singer from the 90's industrial band Skrew had a similar vocal style, albeit a bit more coherent. But that was an industrial band and this is a doom/sludge band so, for me, the tinniness of the vocals don't quite fit the depth of the music.

"Sex In The Seventh Circle" and Hang The Bastard have a lot going for them and doom fans may find the record more appealing than I did. I thought I was getting an X-box and I ended up with a dozen pairs of socks. That's all right. I needed some new socks anyway. Remember, as always, my tastes are not your tastes so check out Hang The Bastard for yourself. Who knows, you may like the socks. 

Wizard

Contributor