Hengestaur/Ånesott/Rektalfilosofisk Rekord-Fabrikk/2023 Full Length Review

 

  Norway's  Hengestaur  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  a  an  old  school  Norwegian  black  metal  style  mixed  in  with  some  modern  post  metal  elements  and  this  is  a review  of  their  2023  album  "Ånesott"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Rktalfilosofisk  Rekord-Fabrikk.

    A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a decent   amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  A  lot  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  classic  Nordic  style  which  is  also  mixed  in  with  more  modern  influences  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  at  times,  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  keyboards  are  added  on  the  closing song  which  is  also  an  instrumental.

  On  this  recording  Hengestaur  continues  to  expand  on the  mixture  of  the  classic  Nordic  style  with  modern  post  black  metal  that  they  introduced  on  their  previous  release.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  darkness  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  from  Hengestaur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  post  black  metal   you  should  heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  Ljos'  Krom  Nakkjen  and  Antraktis  Sol.  8  out  of  10.

  

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Hengestaur/Eldhug/Rektalfilosofisk Rekord-Fabrikk/2021 EP Review

 

  This  is  another  review  of  a  recording  from  Norway's  Hengestaur  which  also  shows  them  expanding  on  their  Norwegian  style  of  black  metal  from  their  previous  releases  and  the  ep  will  be  released  in  August  by  Rektalfilosofisk  Rekord-Fabrikk and  called  "Eldhug".

  Heavy  yet  melodic  riffing  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  very  powerful  bass  guitar  sound  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  some  raw  tremolo  picking.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  one  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  the  old  school  Norwegian  style  with  more  modern  elements.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  and  each  track  also  sounds  very  different  from  each  other  as  well  as  some  synths  also  being  added  on  the  closing  song  which  is  also  an  instrumental.

  On  this  recording  Hengestaur  takes  the  old  school  style  of  Norwegian  black  metal  from  earlier  releases  and  expands  by  mixing  in  some  more  modern  influences  to  take  their  sound  to  another  level.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  dark  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hengestaur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  Norwegian  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kniven"  and  "Rotlaus".  8  out  of  10.

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Hengestaur/Frostnid/Rektalfilosofisk Rekord-Fabrikk/2021 EP Review

 

  Hengestaur  are  a  duo  from  Norway  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  which  shows  them  expanding  on  their  Norwegian  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  ep  "Frostnid"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Rektalfilosofisk  Rekord-Fabrikk.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  some  non  musical  sounds  can  be  heard  briefly  before  adding  in  some  clean  playing  which  also  shows  an  influence  of  post  rock.

  Atmospheric  sounds  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  melodies  also  being  added  into  some  of the  guitar  riffing  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  the  ep  also  closing  with  an  instrumental.

  On  this  recording  Hengestaur  sticks  mostly  to  a  classic  style  of  Norwegian  black  metal  as  well  as  mixing  in  some  more  modern  influences  and  diversity.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  ep  from  Hengestaur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  Norwegian  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Brenn  Di  Sjel  Til  Jorda".  8  out  of  10.

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Hengestaur Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Hengestaur was created by me (Hesj) & Eirik in august 2016, at the time we was in another band together that played death metal, and we played a few gigs with them, but we grew really tired of some of them when we was set to record demos together. One of the members was dead set on making it «proffesional». And Our Vocalist couldnt make the screams he wanted. For my part it broke the whole shitshow, and me and eirik decided that we should make the best black metal there is, and a give a big FUCK YOU to all «proffesional» sounding, boring new bands.

2.Since 2018 you have released a good amount of singled,can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the songs?
Of course our musical style is fast grim black metal , But with the single like «Harahorn», the riffs sounded better as a more slow, hard-punching song. «Evige Straumar» and «To» are a bit simmilar to each other, with whirlwind riffs and blastbeats, most of our songs will eventually be more like them! On «To» you can hear a massive harmonica drone thing that Eirik calls a «Weeb» filter, so that listeners that cant stand our sound wont listen through all of it. I personally love that gimmick

3.So far all of your releases have been singles, are there any plans for an ep or a full length?
To begin with we wanted to release 1 Ep! And then 2 Eps, and now we are working on releasing 3 ALBUMS! Bold as hell, but we’ll see in the future what the final thing will be, we have tons of music, but i guess the most realistic thing we will do is release two eps, one light and one dark

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
So far with our singles we write about time and rebirth (Evige Straumar) Addiction (Harahorn) , be it alcohol, nicotine, whatever.. porn lmao and negation with our latest single «To». Eirik writes most of the lyrics, ive only written «Harahorn» so far. Its a very mindfull music.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hengestaur'?
Hengestaur can really mean anything you want, its not a official word, but if you split them like « Henge Staur» it will translate to Hanging Pole in english. I came up with the name by actually wanting a part of my sure name «hesjedal» in it like «hesjestaur» but it looked and felt stupid as hell, glad i never made it like that, a hesje staur is a pole for hay drying lol. Much more grim with a Hanging pole, so i went with Hengestaur, and Eirik loved it.

6.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?
We have not done any live shows, and personally i do not see Hengestaur playing live, if Darkthrone and Bathory could resist it, so can we! I cant speak for Eirik, and he wont do interviews, and also we are at the moment just two people

7.Currently the band is unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We have gotten a few offers, but we dont like the labels that like us! We almost got signed by a really cool norwegian label, but they would rather put their money into some random Glam woman band that will fade away in 5 years.. Hengestaur is forever, we are open to good labels, boomer record companies that want something else than the sound we make can fuck off!

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
I suck at promo, but the «fans» we have love it! Harahorn took a bit of in australia wierdly enough, and when i say «took of» its not thousands of plays, maybe around 50, haha.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I see Hengestaur just making a little name of it self, nothing more. Its mainly music for ourself, the more people who like it the merrier

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
For my part in influence its Slayer, Judas Priest, Turbonegro, Darkthrone, Burzum, Taake, Immortal/Abbath and Motorhead. Nowadays i listen much to Drittmaskin (Svart Pønk) / «Black Punk» and  try to find new stuff within the underground, but often fall back to the great old ones, I cant really answer for Eirik on this question

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I really hate «russemusikk», but im quite open to new things. And again cant answer for Eirik, he refuses to do interviews.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Final words? We proclaim that we bring the next wave of Norwegian Black Metal, Blast us! Thanks
Hesj, Drummer/Vocalist Hengestaur

https://www.facebook.com/Hengestaur/

Hengestaur/Singles Review

  Hengestaur  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  Norwegian  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  singles  that  where  released  between  2019  and  2020.

  "Evige  Stramar"

    A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  single  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  also  has  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

Nature  sounds  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  dark  themes.

  "Harahorn"

  Nature  orientated  soundscapes  start  off  the  track  along  with  some  tortured  voices  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  growls  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  song  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  The  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  second  wave  era  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  the  music  sticking  mostly  to  a  mid  tempo  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the lyrics  are  written  inn  Norwegian  and  cover  darkness  and  death  themes.

"To"

  Tribal  style  drumming  starts  off  the  track  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Norwegian  style.

  The  songs  also  adds  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  synths  and  atmospheric  drones  also  being  used  briefly.  Clean  playing  and  spoken  word  parts  also  have  a  brief  presence  in  the  track  and  the  song  also  adds  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  In  my  opinion  Hengestaur  are  a  very  great  sounding  Norwegian  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  the  singles.  8  out  of  10.

Hengestaur.bandcamp.com