Hexenhaus – A Tribute to Insanity Review

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Here we’ve got one more role of brend new reissues. Now the subject is the 1980’s Thrash Metal horde Hexenhaus, whose band name means witch’s house and is a reference to the Malefizhaus in Bamberg, Germany, a frightful place where hundreds of suspected witches were tortured and executed during the early 17th century, as mastermind guitarist Mickael Vikström tells. A proper name for a Metal band if you ask me.

ROAR reissued Hexenhaus‘ three albums, that are, 1987’s “A Tribute to Insanity,” their debut album; the sophomore 1990’s “The Edge of Eternity,” and 1991’s “Awakening.” As it is usual in this kind of role of reissues or boxes, we are going to review one of them and tell a little bit about the others. I find it better than write three reviews in a role of only one band.

To some extent, Hexenhaus were thought to be the next band in the early 1990’s after the release of their 1990’s “The Edge of Eternity,” and 1991’s “Awakening.” However, some management problems, or the lack of a proper one, made their dreams fade away. Guitarist and mastermind Mike Vikström recalls. “Big and important magazines like Metal Hammer, Kerrang, Metal Forces and Aardschok gave us fantastic reviews! Even better than the ones we’ve received before, but we just couldn’t break through.” Without the big success the band called it a quits in 1992.

Hexenhaus were not one of the bands I happened to have known back then, even though I might remember their name from some magazine I read. It is such a pitty because I bet I would have liked them as their take on Thrash Metal is pretty much what bands as Annihilator and Hallow’s Eve used to do, two bands I used to listen a lot when I was a teen. This reissue 1987’s “A Tribute to Insanity” sounds a lot as they did back then with some slints of Destruction as well. This retro listening sounds to me that Hexenhaus cared a little bit more to instrumentals considering drummer Ralph Raideen’s dexterity who goes a little beyond what was asked from drummers that time as the double bass drumming in “Eaten Alive” tells us. The evolution of the guitars tell the same tale.

“A Tribute to Insanity” commences with an intro called “It…,” a great appetizer of what is to come with the intense and fast “Eaten Alive.” Its cinematic verve kind of addresses to Stephen King’s eponymous book. By the way, intros are a signature of the band as all three albums have them. “As Darkness Falls” is a typical 1980’s Thrash Metal track whose instrumental with all the downpickings and the wall of sound gice the tone. A highlight to the guitars and drumming as for all the album as “Death Walks Among Us – Memento Mori,” where the guitars bounce into memorable solos in a duel, the fantastic guitar duels Metal music made famous. Pay great attention to the main guitar riffing and its complexity.

As an interesting fact about “A Tribute to Insanity,” the painting in the cover is “The Treasures of Satan” by Belgian symbolist painter, writer, and occultist Jean Delville, which was also used for 1991’s Morbid Angel‘s second album, “Blessed Are the Sick.”

From “The Edge of Eternity” to “Awakening” Hexenhaus delve into more complex songwriting and a more aggressive punch. As a reflex of this musical philosophy guitar solos do get more intricate and take a bigger part of the songs. Intros to song get longer and longer instrumentals as well.

It’s a pity Hexenhaus did not get the success it deserved, but that’s the way life is; one has to lose to other wins. C’est la vie.

Hexenhaus “A Tribute to Insanity,” “The Edge of Eternity,” and “Awakening” were released on May 16th via ROAR.

Track Listing:

01 – It…

02 – Eaten Alive

03 – Delirious

04 – As Darkness Falls

05 – Incubus

06 – Death Walks Among Us – Memento Mori

07 – The Dead Are Restless

08 – Requiem