Band : Hukkunud Hinged
Album title : Hukkunud Hinged
Label : Own Release
Distributor : /
Release date : 2010
Review : CD

Hukkunud Hinged (Perished Souls) have an unbelievable knack with writing great, sad guitar harmonies and riffs the like of Candlemass, Reverend Bizarre, My Dying Bride and St Vitus.

But those are just influences, because Hukkunud Hinged have a pretty original sound. Tracks like "Surmasuudlus", "Unetus", "Tulesorg" or even the bluesy doom stomper “Kane kutku vahel” with harmonica solos are all examples of the beautiful grimness this Estonian band is able to conjure. Driven for the most part at a stomping low – pace, something like a march of the dead, there is fantastic lead guitarwork to get the old metal heart pumping. The guitars craft wonderful harmonies, but also deliver enough heavy riffs, furthermore constantly surprise with intriguing, but beautiful solo work. There's not a high level of technicality on this record, but that's not a bad thing. My fave song “Juurte nukrus” is prime doom complete with dragging riffs, a haunting atmosphere and an infatuating melancholy that seem to hang over the whole song... After an acoustic intro “Tulesorg” gets annihilated by a wall of guitars, punctuated with powerful sadness, and a rumbling bass carrying it all. The same goes for the vocals where the raw blackened aarggh parts fit in perfectly with the clean female ones. The band intends to write all their lyrics in Estonian and it certainly contributes to the mysterious atmosphere.. The production, too, is more than adequate and for an own release really good, also fitting the rawness of the music.

Their 70 minute debut is the sound of a confident band that has a strong vision for their music and does everything in their power to achieve that vision. The bottom-line is that Hukkunud Hinged is a pleasant surprise and should please any old school doom metal fan.

90/100

Cosmicmasseur.