Despite everything German about this band, their name, the title of the album, the song titles and the lyrics, Hasswut actually hails from Spain. The band has been in existence since late 2013 and consists of a trio of musicians who formed this project to create music that is a fusion between electronic and metal. The lineup has been unchanged since their formation, with Daniel NQ as vocalist, Javix as guitarist and programmer and Zufo as keymaster. Since their formation the guys have released a demo, two full-lengths and a single and they have recently released their latest work, which is another full-length titled Atomkrieg. And that’s all there is to be found about Hasswut.
If you bought this not knowing what type of music you’d be encountering you won’t need to long to figure out what dynamite Hasswut likes to throw at you, as Atomkrieg’s opener Der radioaktive Mann displays both main sources they tap from within a minute. The restlessness of the keys combined with the rather tight guitar work and the raw, threatening vocals gets the listener riled up right away. The pace of the song is gripping, the music mostly pounding, there is no doubt the industrial influence is loudly audible. The guitars are tight, but they are more often at the service of the keys than the other way around. This is something that applies to almost all songs, although the speed drops a little as the release progresses.
All this inevitably implies there’s not a whole lot of variety to be found on Atomkrieg. Partly that is correct, the basics of the songs are indeed not very varied, but especially the keys and, be it a little less influential, the vocals make each song differ enough from the others to keep things interesting. There is one condition though, and that is that provocative, keyboard oriented music with a healthy dose of guitar and angry, raw vocal lines is your thing. That is so specific that it only applies to a small number of metal fans. However, even though industrial metal is not my preferred genre, regardless whether it is a fusion with electronic music or not, I actually had a good time listening to this release. Especially the first half of this album has a few nice tracks, with the opener and La Purga as my personal favorites. Despite the limited variety in the compositions the tracks are feisty enough to keep your attention. No reason not to give this a go, fans of the genre will have a blast, but for the most metal fans I’d recommend to experience this in small doses until your metal genes are used to this. Then you can go full blast.
[…] their new album, titled Atomkrieg, which DutchMetalManiac’s Henric van Essen reviewed here. Now, he also had an interview with […]