Sunday, September 01, 2013

Hesus Attor-Pardon

Geenger Records

Every now and then, if life is to remain fair and the universe is to remain balanced, a band like Croatia's Hesus Attor will fall out of the woodwork and be so bold as to lay down a challenge to you. The challenge is daring as it asks, or more like it demands, you to not only expand (and possibly redefine) your horizons, but also your own definition as to what is or is not "heavy metal". Such is the case with Hesus Attor and their upcoming new album "Pardon". I ask just one request though before you read on. Please do not fear such a daring proposition (redefining what constitutes a heavy metal album) as the answer to that question is a resounding yes! Yes, at their inner core (after you've stripped away the many different layers of brightly colored material) Hesus Attor are a HEAVY metal band. No matter how much this music is twisted and turned or how far it is stretched out into the realms of absurdity (and it is often stretched out FAR!) it still maintains a healthy undercurrent that is filled to the brim with metallic elements. The band, which first sprung to life back in 2003, started out as an instrumental unit featuring guitarist Juan Pablo Pe De Rigad, bassist Senor José and drummer Manolo mago Porco. It was during this time that the band founded their own label, Izdali Smo Metal (We Betrayed Metal), so that they could self-release their material without having to answer to anyone but themselves. In 2005 though they decided to finally enlist the services of a singer with El Cathedralico answering the call. Since that time the band has released more then their fair share of albums. They have also seen the addition of a second guitarist (Gorgonzol Matadores) and have replaced drummers (Pedro De Carbon now sits behind the drum kit). Now, if you were to go to the Facebook page of this Croatian band (link below) you would find yourself greeted by this description: "Hesus Attor is a band recognizable for its unpretentious and wild, dadaistic approach to musical genres". OK, but what does that mean in layman's terms? Avant-garde metal would be one description of this 5-piece band or, if you will, this is one of those bands where the phrase "everything but the kitchen sink" would come into play! It's all here on "Pardon" folks. Sure there's punk, rock and roll and of course heavy metal. But, in standing with their own long-standing belief that music should be fun and spontaneous, there's also pop, surf, world music, 70's glam rock, opera, cabaret and about a million other different sounds/genres thrown about on their upcoming album! And when you've got a lead vocalist who can go from sounding like Serj Tankian (System of a Down) one minute to sounding like Fred Schneider (The B-52's) at the next (El Cathedralico covers so much ground on "Pardon" that you'd swear that Hesus Attor had an army of singers just waiting at their fingertips!) you have the perfect front-man to tackle such wide and varied styles! Trying to keep track of all the twists and turns of "Pardon" proved damn near impossible as I could have sworn I picked up on bits of jazz, country and western and funk as well! But, it all moves so fast as if the band spontaneously just played whatever popped into their head at that given moment. It's rather like loading up multiple stereos with mixed genre CD compilations and playing them all at the same time while you drop acid! Not that I would suggest doing such a thing (the dropping acid part as I personally love making up random genre compilations), but hopefully you get a general idea of how different "Pardon" is from even your typical mixed-genre metal bands. Lyrically it's much more of the same as the band takes aim at the listener with material that is wildly weird and steeped with their own twisted sense of humor! But, while you might be picturing a band that is somewhat Mr. Bungle and somewhat Primus, which would be interesting to a point, this humorous and adventurous bunch is much more fun and exciting then mere words can summarize! Granted you will need to have an open-mind with a release like "Pardon", but if you can muster as much you'll be treated to one of the more interesting experimental albums to drop in some time. Be warned though that "Pardon" can go from being sublime to savage at the drop of a dime and when it wildly swings back towards heavy metal it gets LOUD and AGGRESSIVE! As unorthodox as this album might sound on paper it all works when experienced live and it color. Given how talented the individual members of Hesus Attor are (and how dedicated they are to making sure that such different genres all sound as perfect as possible) an album like "Pardon" is a easy recommendation. So live a little and take a chance on this Croatian band. And that's a suggestion that's especially warranted if you find yourself stuck in a rut with the same old music collection staring back at you or if you need to learn to be more open-minded when it comes to heavy metal. You can find out more about the band below as well as how to pick up a copy of "Pardon" for your own. 

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