HEXX — No Escape (review)

Album · 1984 · US Power Metal

4/5 · 2015-09-22
UMUR

"No Escape" is the debut full-length studio album by US, San Francisco, California based power metal act Hexx. The album was released through Shrapnel Records in 1984. The band existed from 1983 to 1995 and released three full-length studio albums in that period. They developed their sound greatly over the years, starting out playing power/thrash/heavy metal and ending in death/thrash metal territory. It´s a very unusual development of sound, and right now I can´t recall other artists having taken that career path.

There´s absolutely nothing on "No Escape" that points in the direction that Hexx would eventually play death/thrash metal though. The music on "No Escape" is instead a raw and powerful US power/heavy metal style, that at times reminds me of some of the earliest, and most raw and heavy metal oriented output by acts like Queensrÿche and Fates Warning. I even hear a slight bit of Psychotic Waltz here and there, even though the music on "No Escape" can´t and shouldn´t be tagged progressive metal. The musicianship is up there with those acts too. Hexx are an incredibly well playing act with a powerful, heavy, and pounding rhythm section, intriguing heavy metal riffing and blistering solo work, and a high pitched and very skilled lead vocalist on top.

So we´ve established that the musicianship is top notch, but that´s not the only thing that´s top notch on "No Escape". First of all the songwriting is strong, instantly catchy, and memorable in the long run too, which are songwriting qualities you won´t always be treated to. Secondly "No Escape" features a sharp, raw, and powerful sound production, that for the time is quite impressive. Sure the snare drum sound is very reverb laden and the whole thing reeks 80s heavy metal, but it´s one of those productions from those days, that provides the music with just the right raw and authentic sound. It´s definitely one of the better sound productions I´ve heard on this type of music from that time. Just to make a comparison the sound productions on the early releases by the above mentioned acts aren´t nearly as well defined and powerful as the sound on this album.

The only minor issue with "No Escape" is probably the fact that the music isn´t that original sounding. Hexx are not distinct sounding or unique and there are many other artists playing a similar style from those years. So it´s with the high quality of the product that Hexx stands out, and stand out they do. I´ve listened to "No Escape" again and again, and I come to the same conclusion every time, after having banged my head and played air drums and guitar for the duration of the 9 track, 31:10 minutes long album, and that conclusion is that "No Escape" is a high quality US power/heavy metal release and therefore a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

...and yeah it turned out to be US power/heavy metal on the 2017 album, and not a continuation of the tech death/thrash of their 1991 album.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I guess the odds are it´s US power then.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

According to EM their current line-up is Dan Bryant (vocals), Dan Watson (guitars), Mike Horn (bass) and John Shafer (drums).

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

My guess is they´d play tech death/thrash as they did on their last album, but I might be wrong. Probably depends on the lineup...

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This one didn't manage to really grab me on first listen, but your review has made me want to give it a second chance sooner rather than later now.

They actually got back together in 2013 by the way. Not sure if it's just for live shows or if they play to do new music though. I wonder what direction they'd take if they did make a comeback album.