The late Vehemence was a great surprise when I first heard them and it seems natural that between them and the more traditional “serious” melodic death metal bands, we should be hearing a great many projects that draw from the well they helped dig. Hung certainly has the storytelling flair in their songwriting, using the melodic leads to convey actual emotional content instead of dazzling riffing or technical showmanship. And I would be very excited about this release were it not for the lackluster production and some incongruous vocal decisions.

Said vocals are, in the main, a raspy black/death growl, but occasionally broken up by some distracting singing in somewhat gothic reserve. It’s a tiny quibble, especially since the vocals NEED some relief from some angle. The same growly pitch gets monotonous in music like this. The rest of the band are competent and attack the compositions with a workmanlike methodology. The overall effect is of a band with magnificent songwriting trying to find its “sound” so as to properly convey the power in their possession.

The production is not bad enough to keep this record from being a decent listen, but it detracts from the greatness it should have attained. There is a very heavy band at work here, one that understands the power of heft AND silence. They deserve a better recording. You can definitely hear what you need to but it could be so much better, so much fuller and more appropriate. It’s the group’s first recording, so I expect great things in the future, and I still demand you give this a listen, but the production will need to be improved next time.

The bottom line is that this band should fucking do well next time. If they don’t compromise on the songwriting but pick up the performances just a bit and get serious about studio work, these guys ought to become a staple of the American death metal scene. As far as your purchasing and listening participation, yeah, check this thing out. It has places it could have and should have gone, I think, but I can’t imagine the songwriting found here will fail to grab and hold real heavy metal fans. Can’t wait to see what’s next for Hung.