(8/10) Abtsgmuend rocks - at least since 2006. That was the year when Hackneyed was founded by Philipp Mazal and Tim Cox. Both have been a quite constant factor in the Swabian metal band. The same goes for Devin Cox who joined in 2007. More changes have been taken place when in comes the the rhythm section of Hackneyed. Fabian and Phillip Fink from Necrotted joined a year ago and the five-piece recorded a new album that will be in the shop in a few days.

"Inhabitants of Corcosa" is the title of the fourth longplayer of Hackneyed. It's packed with 10 songs that are based somewhere between oldschool death metal, thrash metal and melodic guitar lines.

The album starts with the grooving opener "The flaw of flesh". After a short intro the track increases in heaviness. It's a mid-tempo anthem with deep growls and quite melodic guitars. A really strong momentum on the new album. A number I want to mention too is "Re-animated". The tune combines deeply rooted death metal elements with a melodic chorus. Hackneyed merges those segments as at would be the most natural thing on earth. The track stands as one unit by still being varied.

Then there are the moments when I felt a bit reminded to Arch Enemy ("Death toll" and "Now I become death") while "Klown" could come from Sepultura's "Roots" milestone. And the shouts in the beginning of "Ashfall" brought back the memory of listening to Tompa Lindberg on Nightrage's debut.

Hackneyed shows very clearly that death metal doesn't need to be one-dimensional. The guys are doing an excellent job on their new album, enriched by a crystal clear and diversified sound. Respect and thumbs up

(8/10)

Tracklist:

The flaw of flesh
God's own creation
Now I am become death
Re-animator
Ashfall
In Carcosa (The yellow king)
The tightrope
Years in the dark
Death toll
Klown

Label: CoMa Tone Records

Genre: Death Metal

CD review HACKNEYED "Inhabitants of Corcosa"

hackneyed