Hagzissa returns with a new EP.
Six years after their debut album, B. Moser (vocals/bass, Kringa, Death Racer, Forgotten Shrines), Hnisatel (guitar, Bahratal, Snet), C. Rastelli (bass/guitar, ex-Whiskey Ritual) and L. Pachinger (drums, Kringa) mark the end of 2025 with Revelry of a Maltreated Jade.
It begins with the intriguing Der Schwarze Teich, a mysterious introduction that progresses, accompanied first by a gentle melody, then surrounded by strange noise elements, until it leads into the raw, jerky sound of A Single Feather Coiling, an aggressive composition where abrasive riffs and furious vocals are already at work. There are some disturbing and intriguing elements that punctuate the furious waves of Old School darkness, such as the disjointed solo before an almost playful passage that leads to Kingly Daughters of the Alder-Wisp, where the rage resumes with a vengeance. The vocals are even more macabre on this track with its chaotic rhythm and scathing harmonics that fly easily, but the sound cuts off abruptly to join Sic Transit (Gloria Mundi) / …Coda, which will surprise many, putting an even more confusing end to this very short work of dark decadence.
While the two compositions on Revelry of a Maltreated Jade are very effective in their style, the intro and outro tracks are very disturbing. Hagzissa‘s madness strikes again with this EP, which could have done with being a little longer.
75/100
