HEKZ – Tabula Rasa

Bedford is not a natural hotbed of rock ‘n’ roll but this could change with HeKz, a young and talented band from said town. This four piece consist of vocalist Matt Young, guitarists Tom Smith and Al Beveridge and drummer Kirk Brandham. They have John Mitchell (Arena/It Bites) helping out on mixing duties, who has the golden touch having worked with amongst others current Kerrang! darlings You Me At Six.

For their ages they sound like they have been playing together for years recalling bits of Dream Theater, Tea Party and Queensryche plus Matt Young’s vocals reminded me of Damian Wilson (Threshold). The album takes a few spins to gel but do persevere as songs like ‘Darkness Visible’ grow in stature after each play. The brooding, slow groove of ‘City Of Lost Children’ is an undoubted highlight – the band deftly combine harmonies on both vocals and guitars. ‘Vendetta’ and ‘Poison Pen’ both have the chance to be singles/airplay tracks.

Prog metal with a refreshing edge – none of the mainland Euro metal cliches you get on many albums – and it bodes very well indeed for this band’s future.

****

Jason Ritchie

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)