A review of Hedonist „Sepulchral Lacerations”

 

Hedonist

"Sepulchral Lacerations"

Dawnbreed Rec. 2022

It’s poetry... The poetry of war... With these words the demo of Canadian Hedonist opens before us. Let me tell you that of all the samples that were intros to all sorts of releases, this one seems to be one of the most apt. Maybe it's because to me the definition of death metal war machine has from the dawn of time been British Bolt Thrower. It is impossible to count the bands on which this stainless steel colossus has made its mark. Another heir to the legacy of the Coventry-based crew is the aforementioned Hedonist, which on a mere twenty-minute demo perfectly cultivates the traditions started by the islanders. The Canadians clearly draw heavily on the work of the authors of the Fourth Crusade, which can be heard primarily in the characteristically melodic way of riffing and the sound of the guitar, at times almost taken straight from the albums of the aforementioned classics. So the heaviness is mixed here in perfect proportions with catchy harmonies, both crushing to a pulp and gripping at the same time. There is no speed contest here. The guys carve at a rather average pace, although there's no denying that their tank is slightly ahead of the Challenger on the battlefield. And this is perhaps where all the charm of "Sepulchral Lacerations" lies.  Hedonist make a kind of version 2.0, a tweaked with their own ideas counterpart to the original. Because in addition to the obvious skeleton, they made some of their own improvements to the, already almost perfect design. Thanks to them, it can't be said of Hedonist that they are only blind imitators, but eminently teachable students who can apply the master's teachings to their own battle plans. I like almost everything on these recordings. There's gravity, there's an amazing flow, there are shiver-inducing moments, there's a perfect analog sound. The only thing to complain about here, although it will still be a picking holes in it, is the rather flat and a bit too shallow vocals. If you just tweak the singer a bit, Hedonist's subsequent recordings could really make quite a stir on stage. Considering that this is the band's first session, I can't imagine a better start. And if there is even the slightest progress when the next one is recorded, I'm scared to death if my knees can withstand it, or if they will automatically fold up like a pocket knife. I hope to find out very soon, especially since the release of Dawnbreed is a reissue of originally turned loose already a year ago material.

- jesusatan