The ‘witches’ are back! Of course I am talking about Hexen – Basque Country’s all-female powerhouse who have been turning heads with their excellent sound ever since the band got formed in 2015! A year later the band debuted with the EP “Akt I: Die Frauenjagd” – which was good, but with their second act – the mini-LP “Die Rache”, the ladies display their true power, resulting in a fantastic release!
Because everything, from the band’s sound to its lyrics, has been upgraded to full effect, making this 12” top their previous effort easily! The excellent melodies, great vocal harmonies (sorry guys, it just sounds better when a group of women does it), strong vocals and ditto lyrics touching subjects or views you hardly hear about in Oi! music – simply because the ‘scene’ is male-dominated, are making sure “Akt II: Die Rache” is both interesting and a pleasure to listen to!
Including a cover of The Gits’ (USA) “Second Skin”, “Akt II: Die Rache” contains a total of eight melodic street punk anthems that are a must for fans of female(-fronted) Oi! and punk music. Hit after hit is coming out of my speakers with tracks like “Mother Of Sighs”, “The Hellbound Heart”, “Memories Of Mia” and “Join The Cover”, but my favorite is without a doubt “Ode To Conspiracy”. Being the grand finale of Hexen’s second act so to speak, it really lives up to its expectations, being catchy and exciting from start to finish. I only wished the mix didn’t end so abrupt as it does, but that’s just me.
Otherwise I have nothing to complain about. Sure, the vocals sometimes have a bit of an accent and the lyrics are a bit direct from time to time – both due to the fact that all is sung and written in English, obviously not the band’s native tongue, but for me personally this is not a problem. With that being said, I am still curious how Hexen would sound in Euskara or Spanish – maybe ‘Akt III’ will tell… For now “Akt II: Die Rache” will do though, simply because it’s an excellent release! (REVIEW: AMERICANOI.com)
