1986 was a weird year, man. Hair metal was exploding in L.A., thrash was brewing in the Bay Area, and right in the heart of it, HEXX, a band straight outta the San Francisco underground, unleashed "Under the Spell," a record that defied easy categorization. It was metal, yeah, but not the glammed-up stuff MTV was force-feeding us.
HEXX were like the bastard children of Black Sabbath and Mercyful Fate, raised on a steady diet of Venom and Celtic Frost. They weren't reinventing the wheel, but they were spinning it with a ferocity and darkness that was uniquely their own.
"Under the Spell" is a sonic assault from the get-go. The opening track, "The Coven," is a relentless barrage of riffs that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. The vocals are a guttural growl, like a demon being exorcised through a Marshall stack. The lyrics are pure occult imagery – witches, demons, and all manner of unholy things. This focus on dark themes quickly garnered the album a cult following among fans who reveled in the band's embrace of the macabre.
The album isn't all breakneck speed, though. Tracks like "Night of the Werewolf" and the title track "Under the Spell" show a band that's not afraid to slow things down and create an atmosphere of dread. It's like wandering through a haunted forest at midnight, every creaking branch and rustling leaf a potential threat. This dynamic range helped to establish the album as a staple within the burgeoning doom metal scene.
The production is raw and unpolished, but that's part of the charm. This is a band that recorded in a studio, not a laboratory. You can hear the sweat and the beer dripping off the instruments. It's a testament to the DIY ethic that was still alive and well in the metal underground. This raw production, while sometimes criticized, ultimately became a defining characteristic of the album, adding to its underground appeal.
HEXX weren't without their controversies. The lyrics were often accused of being Satanic, which only added to their mystique. Some critics dismissed them as a gimmick, a band trying to shock rather than create art. But for those who got it, HEXX were a breath of fresh air in a metal scene that was becoming increasingly commercialized. These controversies, rather than hindering the band, only seemed to fuel their notoriety and further solidified their place in the metal underground.
"Under the Spell" was recorded at a studio in the Bay Area, a testament to the thriving local metal scene that was producing a wealth of talent at the time. The production team consisted of the band themselves, along with a few trusted engineers who understood their vision. There were no big-name producers or outside influences. This was HEXX's record, through and through. This independent spirit resonated with fans and helped to establish the album as a true product of the underground.
The album didn't set the charts on fire, but it gained a cult following among metalheads who were hungry for something heavier and darker than the mainstream fare. It's a record that still holds up today, a testament to a band that dared to be different in a scene that was becoming increasingly homogenized. The album's enduring popularity is a testament to its influence on subsequent generations of metal bands, and its raw power continues to captivate listeners today.
In the grand scheme of things, HEXX may not be remembered as pioneers or innovators. But they were a band that carved out their own niche in the metal landscape, a band that wasn't afraid to embrace the darkness and let their freak flag fly. And for that, they deserve our respect.
