A review of Hellish "The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents"

 

Hellish

"The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents"

Dying Victims 2022

 

When Dying Victims release an album by a band from Chile, you probably know roughly what to expect, right? Well, yes and no, because in this case the matter is not at all so obvious. If only because, not knowing the country of origin of the authors of "The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents", I wouldn't direct my eyes to the south at all, but aimed more at the States. The main credit for this goes to the sound, quite different from most bands from that corner of the globe. It lacks that typical dirt, that South American spirit hovering over the whole thing. Instead, we get a sound more oriented towards, say, Sadus, with bass lines put clearly to the fore, and sharp guitars. Admittedly, the Chileans create compositions that are less complex, based mostly on rather simple harmonies, although a few swirls are not missing in them. Perfect evidence of this are, for example, the drum lines, seemingly tapping out mostly simple rhythms, but not devoid of more complex transitions. There is also no shortage of twisted solos, with which the musicians prove their outstanding technical skills. Here and there we will also be surprised by an unexpected trick, such as the use of heavily Nocturnus-like keyboards in "Goddess Death." Generally speaking, however, Hellish's songs are characterized primarily by uncomplicated rhythm and old-school simplicity. The band doesn't try to over-embellish its sounds, striking again and again with solid blows straight to the snout. Both Teutonic thrash influences and those from across the big water can be heard here, and therein lies all the charm. For the most part, the musicians rush straight ahead, but the decidedly more subdued "Violent, Bloody & Cold" proves that they also find their way into slower regions. The vocals on these recordings are quite shrieky, for good measure more akin to black metal screeches than pure thrash screams, also, if you don't count minor effects, kept in a minimalistic tone. An encounter with "The Dance of the Four Elemental Spirits" is like a flogging, each of the blows strike equally hard and leaves a visible mark on the body. I may be far from admiring this material, but I think it's a very decent one, and it will probably find its ardent amateurs.

- jesusatan