Sutekh Hexen & Hissing :: SH:HS EP (Cyclic Law / Phage Tapes)

In the end SH:HS leaves me with a sense of how futile yet crucial it is for us to try to seek meaning in the endless chaos of existence.

Meticulously constructed (and deconstructed) nightmare soundscapes

 

SH:HS feels like the rare sequel that surpasses the original. In 2017, Sutekh Hexen and Hissing released an excellent untitled split EP with The Flenser for which each recorded their own long track: “Pareidolian” by Sutekh Hexen and “Deserted Veins” by Hissing. For this new release on Cyclic Law (Europe & world) and Phage Tapes (North America), the two bands engaged in a more collaborative process during 2024 and 2025, remixing, remastering, and revisioning music originally recorded during two live improvisational sessions in 2017 and 2019. Since Hissing describes their project as on hold as of 2024, this may be the last new material we see from them (although the members are still recording with other bands, two with Homunculus).

Both Los Angeles-based Sutekh Hexen and (formerly, I think) Seattle-based Hissing create a nearly uncategorizable blend of experimental metal and black ambience on their own. To my ears Sutekh Hexen leans more toward black ambient and Hissing more towards extreme metal, though I have read that Hissing had a practice of alternating more metal-oriented releases with more experimental ones. Playing together in SH:HS both bands have created a fascinating and enigmatic ritual of sonic expurgation that immerses the listener in intricately imagined and meticulously constructed (and deconstructed) nightmare soundscapes.

Constant transformation; landscape and mindscape in perpetual flux ::

Each of the two long tracks on SH:HS bears the name of one of the band’s local airports: “LAX” and “SEA.” “LAX” feels thick and chthonic, like hearing deep rumbling echoes promulgated through solid rock. Distorted voices intone ritualistic dream-whispers in the background while a rhythmic pulsing like a muffled piledriver brings the heaviness. More delicate strings and tympani shine through occasionally, almost like shimmering veins of quartz. The track builds and recedes again and again in a nightmarishly organic manner. Listening I sense constant transformation; landscape and mindscape in perpetual flux.

“SEA” begins with rolling drones, a deep monstrous voice, and a sense of space opened by a percussive rapping sounding like void creatures testing for weak spots through which they can swarm into our universe. Then distorted guitars rise like tortured spirits while other guitar drones take the listener on a deep inward journey. Around the halfway point we hear a sound like someone tuning through radio frequencies, trying to find the one that will open the doors of perception. Percussion builds in intensity, surrounding the listener with an urgent and overwhelming black shimmering noise that births a constant stream of horrors, each clamoring for your attention. By the end the track quiets to radio static and a deep rumbling, like smoke-clouds clearing over a landscape scoured clean of all life.

In the end SH:HS leaves me with a sense of how futile yet crucial it is for us to try to seek meaning in the endless chaos of existence. I wish the lyrics were provided somewhere to give the listener some clearer clues to the bands’ intentions for this album—Sutekh Hexen usually does that for releases on their own Bandcamp, but not for this album. But maybe it’s the bleak and terrifying visions that form in our own minds as we listen that matter more, anyway.

SH:HS is available on Cyclic Law. [Bandcamp]