2012
It was a year or so again when Chicago's Hëssler dropped their "Bad Blood" EP. What a difference a year made! Is this really the same band? For the most part yes. Unless I'm mistaken only Frankie Snakes Stripada (lead/rhythm guitar and vocals) and Eric Michaels (bass and vocals) are new to Hëssler. They join returning member's Lariyah Daniels (lead vocals), Igz Kincaid (lead/rhythm guitar and vocals) and Marcus Cox (drums and vocals). Last time around I almost had the impression that "Bad Blood" was the sound of a patchwork band. With these new players added on there is more of a sense of stability and continuity for these Windy City rockers. Does that mean the band has changed direction musically? In a way you could say so. The band's sound is still out of place in the modern world of metal. It's dated. There's still a lot of eighties metal influences swirling around in the mix. I still get the Lita Ford, Lee Aaron, Doro and Bitch vibes. You can't help but think that Lariyah Daniels and company keep a huge stack of eighties metal LPs lying around as inspiration. It's not just those female oriented bands that spring to mind though. Motörhead, Accept, W.A.S.P. Scorpions, AC/DC and other seventies/eighties acts creep in here and there into the sound. So yeah, it's still a style of metal that's a bit "outdated". But the good news is that pop/punk feeling I got with "Bad Blood" is almost gone. The only reminder of it is the constant use of gang vocals. That does get a little tiring after awhile. Maybe by the next album they will have figured out that a little goes a long way with that sort of thing. Let's hope so. Meanwhile the band has added in new little touches that really threw me the first time around. Instead of moving forward with their sound on the new album the band choose to look backwards for inspiration. In no way would I ever imply that these Chicago rockers strike the same cords as these greats, but it's fairly obvious from the first spin that Hëssler drew upon bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden for inspiration. Especially when it comes to the twin guitar attacks of Igz and Frankie! Those are straight out of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden albums! "Comes With The Territory" draws from eighties metal and the N.W.O.B.H.M. scene. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. The more times I spin this disk the more I pick up on everyone from Raven to the Tygers Of Pan Tang! It's subtle of course, but it's there nonetheless. "Comes With The Territory" is the sound of a young band emulating their heroes. The band might still have a long way to go as far as creating their own sound, but when you hear the leap from "Bad Blood" to this (and in only a year!) you can't help but envision their next album being a stone cold killer! "Comes With The Territory" is a really good album from a completely unknown band. Truthfully, if I hadn't read a review of this album at Sleaze Roxx first I wouldn't have even known it came out. It just about slipped through the cracks. One brief listen to it's samples though was all it took for me to go out and buy the album last week. Since it's been in my possession I've probably listened to it 3-4 times so it is a good heavy metal release and one that I'm glad to recommend!
http://www.hesslerchicago.com/
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=H%C3%ABssler-Bad+Blood
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