Harpoon- Deception Among Birds

Harpoon is back and they are just as noisy as ever! The band formed back in 2007 and since they have put out a demo, a full-length, and popped up on a couple splits. Their sound is pretty "all over the place" to say the least. At one moment you may find yourself in a massive whirlwind of feedback filled, grind/powerviolence and the next you are hearing some very enthralling doom. Deception Among Birds clocks in at just under forty minutes and within that time Harpoon is going to do anything possible to win you over.

The guitarwork featured here varies quite a bit. Many sections on the album are very fast paced and filled with adrenaline and fury. This sections are great and these dudes definitely have the ability to thrash your face off, but when they take the time to slow things down things get very interesting. A prime example of this is the epic "Troglodyte's Delight". The track breaks seven minutes and is without a doubt one of the best things Harpoon has ever recorded. The slow, hypnotic riffs ring throughout the head of the listener for what seems like an eternity, which is by no means of bad thing. "Troglodyte's Delight" could be the soundtrack of my life and I would live on with no complaints.

Things get a little experimental at times. One example of this is towards the end of the title track. A brief moment of feedback hits and then you are sent flying into a wall of odd noises. This goes on for a few minutes and throughout that time the layers of noises dissipate slowly to reveal a simple acoustic melody to close out the album. The vocals are filled with hate and are very in your face for the most part. Toney takes every opportunity given to assault your ears and he is successful 100% of the time. At times some clean vocals come into play, this happens most during moments that can almost be classified as drone. It adds a nice chunk of diversity and keeps things from growing stale in the vocal department.

Overall Harpoon have really tapped into their sound with Deception Among Birds. This is by far their most mature release to date. Deception Among Birds shows that Harpoon isn't afraid to experiment and also shows that they can do so without losing their vicious sound that we had heard on previous releases. Fans of grind, doom, drone, death, oxygen, and thrash should give this a listen. You won't be sorry, and the play count will shoot up like a rocket.

Kon Hex- Magnetic Sun

Kon Hex is drone/doom band from Canada. The project consists of one sole member and is completely instrumental. Since the creation of Kon Hex in 2010 there has been an EP and a full-length released. Magnetic Sun makes up the second full-length, it contains four tracks and clocks in at well over an hour. The intro even goes longer than seven minutes, so for those of you seeking a short listen, look elsewhere. Those in search of an album filled with downtrodden drone will get exactly what they expect.

Magnetic Sun has a very solid flow throughout it's playtime. All four tracks almost have to be listened to together to be fully appreciated. For the most part the music is very gloomy and dismal. The sound is huge and when the guitar comes into play it rings on for long periods of time with power. The album really doesn't tend to focus too much on riffs or a solid song structure but rather on creating a strong atmosphere. While the atmosphere is achieved throughout, at times things drag on too long to hold the listeners interest. This doesn't occur often enough to prevent Magnetic Sun from being an enjoyable listen but it does prove to be detrimental in some ways to the overall replay value.

Magnetic Sun's greatest moment is the intro. It is a great way to start off this album. It is almost reminiscent of a Jorg Buttergereit soundtrack (Schramm, Nekromantik, etc). It sets the perfect attitude for this release and is one of those pieces that is the perfect soundtrack for sitting in a dark room in complete solitude. Sadly, the intro sets the bar high and Kon Hex struggles a bit to recreate the atmosphere quite like they did with it. The second track "The Uncharted Notice" comes close with its booming, monumental guitar sound, which truly gives off an almost cataclysmic vibe. While these two tracks work relatively well the other songs don't do quite as well. "In the Seas of Darkness" has its moments but "MSun" is far too drawn out to be very effective. The tracks length could have easily been cut in half and then some, the forty minute length just doesn't seem justified.

Overall fans of drone should find some enjoyment within Magnetic Sun but it is by no means groundbreaking. Some of the ideas on this release stick and some of them don't. The flow of the album and the dreary atmosphere definitely work on a grand scale but there are plenty of things that need to be tweaked in Kon Hex's sound before they can stand out from countless other drone releases. While Magnetic Sun is by no means bad it also doesn't have a great amount of content that will have people coming back for more. If you just can't get enough drone then Kon Hex may be worth a listen for you, but if you want something that demands your attention this might not be what you want.