HAEX - AETHYR ABYSS VOID

MEET A NEW "DEUS EX MACHINA"

The debut album called "Aethyr Abyss Void" of the California duo Haex burst onto the world’s Industrial scene like a heavy thermonuclear projectile! But Haex can hardly be called newbies; it's just that the path to the first full-length record was quite long and winding. This can be judged just by the fact that the messages about the "final stage" of work on the album at the band’s social networks date back to the beginning of 2019... And the first single of the album appeared on Bandcamp in the middle of 2017. But all this time, the band members, Adam V. Jones and Sarah Graves, did not waste their time, but gained experience in studio work and live performances on the local stage. So the band managed to perform on the same stage with Hocico and Das Ich, take part in various Industrial festivals and work on remixes of their colleagues.

For me, Haex turned out to be a complete surprise and one of the brightest discoveries of this year. Moreover, having noticed the vocalist's chic mustache, and comparing them and the area where the band was formed, I thought that this was some kind of new 3teeth project, but my hypothesis was not confirmed. Haex is a new name that, I am sure, will easily win the love of the audience that is not indifferent to the genre.

On "Aether Abyss Void", a little over half an hour of dense, massive, mechanical industrial, which the band themselves define as "esoteric industrial", awaits you. But it seems to me that such a definition is slightly confusing (even if it has a meaning, which we will talk about a little later), because it evokes associations with some kind of tribal sound a-la Ah Cama-Sotz. But Haex, although they weave elements of different styles into their machine pulsation, including Tribal, is still closer to their fellow countrymen from 3teeth. Here, clear, viscous rhythmic patterns are complemented by overdriven guitars and distorted vocals, which, by the way, are very strong on their own; you can hear it even behind the layers of filters.

From the first chords the record plunges you into a gloomy, futuristic, technogenic atmosphere. The intro track called "Divine Feminine" lives up to the term "esoteric industrial" by conjuring up the listener with images of rituals held in honor of some mechanical god. The next track "Cursebreaker" can safely be called one of the main bangers of the album: powerful guitar-based Industrial Metal, with which the guys outperform so many more prominent colleagues. Just for this track the band shot a video, which I also recommend to get acquainted with; the guys have a very interesting, peculiar visual style.

The album continues with the track called "Erebus", performed in the same vein as "Cursebreaker", but inferior in hit potential. Nevertheless, the track is also quite worthy, as, in principle, all other tracks of the album. This track is followed by the very first single of the band, that same track called "Dagger" that was released in 2017. And on the example of this track we can see where the band started from and what it came to by the time the record was released. "Dagger" is a completely electronic track, with no guitars, with voice samples and "spoken words" style of Adam Jones, which seems to be casting some kind of monotonous spell, echoing the pulsating mechanical rhythm. It was at this moment when I understood why the band chose the definition of "esoteric" for themselves; there is really something mystical about this band. The track called "Cvrtain" plunges you even deeper into the gloomy landscapes of "Aethyr Abyss Void", in verses reminiscent of the band called Deathstars from the times of the release of their album called "Synthetic Generation" and especially of their "Syndrome" single. It is followed by the instrumental track called "Bloodtoll", sounding very close to "Dagger", which is not surprising, because "Bloodtoll" was released as the second single in the same 2017. But here you can actually hear the influence of Tribal, which I spoke about at the very beginning of the review. "Bloodtoll" is followed by, perhaps, the most calm and measured track on the album - "Sex Magick". It seems to me that the chorus of this song, where Adam whispers "you need it deeper", could well become the theme of the intro for the channel called "Deeper" on "yellow YouTube" (meaning "PornHub"). But if we leave the jokes aside, then this is a very catchy track which is right in its place, highlighting the necessary key points in the album. Thanks to that, the next track called "Leviathan" leaves even brighter impression than it could if it followed, for example, "Erebus" or "Cursebreaker". In the meantime, "Leviathan", in my opinion, is a great candidate for another single. The album is coming to an end, blackening the picture more and more. "Feast For Death" offers the heaviest track on "Aethyr Abyss Void" to the listener, which seems to be something black-satanic in its nature. The mood is pure Industrial-Black, although you won’t hear the "wall of noise" characteristic of the genre, but you will definitely feel the atmosphere. And the album ends with an instrumental "rhythmic-noise" outro called "Divine Masculine".

In conclusion, I would like to say that this year "Aethyr Abyss Void" has become a real "Deus ex Machina" for the genre. That same "God from the Machine" that turned everything upside down. I still can’t call it the best Industrial or Industrial Rock album of the year, but I can easily call it the main highlight of the genre in 2021! Adam and Sarah deserve recognition in the Industrial scene, and with material like this, I hope it won't be long in coming.