Review by Raphaël on December 12, 2024.

Uprising is a one-man band helmed by Jan van Berlekom aka Winterherz. When I checked the band's metal-archives page and saw some of the lyrical themes were anti-fascism and Marxism, I was both surprised and excited! In a subgenre plagued with nazis and other like-minded scum of the earth, it's always a welcome sight. Now, you do not get a theoretical, in depth dialectical materialist analysis of class in the capitalist system, that could be jarring for the normal metalhead. Instead, you get well written to the point lyrics with an authentic interpretation of Marxist principles, that anybody can enjoy. For example: "people losing all hope and will, livelihood and existence endangered, by a virus that randomly kills, except those who have plenty, living happily ever after, like the leeches that they are, nourishing on the blood of the many". There, it's a beautifully simple way of saying that the capitalist class is living on the oppression of the working class and that they do not get affected by the problems they usually create, like climate change or the inability of our system to deal with natural disasters, like a virus. He also does a great job of conveying the urgency to act of our times.

And, most important of all, the music accompanying these lyrics is so good, you can enjoy the album even if you don't care about lyrics, because let's be real, all of that theoretical stuff is for nerds, let's get to the metal! I would describe the overall sound as a very melodic and epic but still raw black metal. His vocals in particular, you can just feel the pure rage when he screams like a demon and boy, does he have a lot of rage! Even his clean singing, which he doesn't use that often, feels incredibly epic giving extra weight to his words. Musically, he can obviously go really fast, with plenty of blastbeats and wrist destroying tremolo pickings, but he can also slow down, giving more space for heavy riffs or more melodic and atmospheric passages. These passages show real vulnerability in contrast to the rage that is mainly expressed, making the whole album more dynamic and accentuate the really aggressive moments. W is a technically proficient musician, playing both guitar and bass, although there are no over the top shredding solos, the riffs are always fun and interesting! The bass does not really stand out but that's fairly normal for black metal.

The production is also great, clear enough to hear everything but with a superb rawness that fits the music and themes perfectly. To quote their bandcamp: recorded "In rage and fury wrest from the shadows between the years 2021 – 2023 at Schattenschmiede Studios. The drums sit comfortably in the mix, not overly loud but still having an impact: "Drums painfully dragged into lights by Austin Lunn in the 12th moon of 2023." So, to sum up everything, incredible music and incredible lyrics make for an incredible album. With the perfect run-time of 40 minutes, you will get a lot of replay value.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Tomek on November 23, 2013.

“Hexed” album cover gives me the creeps. Lifeless picture of a deceased woman with arms in pharaonic pose with wavy veil that covers her mummified face just enough to keep it secretive, dress covered in peculiar writing, her hands positioned in a way to possibly give a message to the living. I’m creeped out by it but yet I cannot stop myself from looking at her. Could she be Yidhra herself, or is it one of her shape shifting forms? Is that how you end up when she is done with you? I guess I’ll never know. “Hexed” is the first full length studio album from a band Yidhra, and if that’s how they start there is no telling where they could get. I think top is the only way.

‘Witch Queen’ (coincidently an explanation to a name Yidhra) is the opening track and it sets the tone for the whole album from the very beginning. Dark, slow guitars start a dirty groove to get things into motion and then this frightening occult motive surfaces out of nowhere to set the mood for the rest of the album. It doesn’t get better than that, believe you me. Guitars produce a lot of epic riffing and create sinister atmosphere throughout a whole album without any lack of momentum. Over an hour of high quality Doom Metal with plenty of variation and crushing gloom. Drums are perfectly positioned in the mix and for a Doom Metal album are very entertaining. As with any Doom release, I wish every once in a while for the drums to just surprise me with something wicked but it doesn’t happen here. Good, professional and very solid but no surprises. Thick rumble of the bass with its deep and fuzzy tone is something that originally grabbed me by the ear. It sounds so freakishly evil that it should have its own kingdom or at least its own castle in the kingdom of bass. Thick as molasses, fuzzy like a wooly Sasquatch and monstrous like Mothra. Massive vibrations. The last part of this evil creature is vocalist Ted. Sound of his voice, the manner he sings with and the overall tone that his voice gives to the album is spine chilling. He has this hypnotizing quality to it but you know that if fall under it you’ll end up in the tombs without a way to get back. No snap of his fingers and no waking up from that one. Frightening.

“Hexed” is an album that brought my interest in Doom Metal back. Everything that I look for and desire from a Doom Metal album is on here, and it is all superbly produced, recorded and played out. As a matter of fact it is an album that anyone with an interest in Doom Metal should get accustomed with. Like it or not it has a classic quality to it and don’t just go by what I say. Bill Metoyer (Slayer, Corrosion Of Conformity, Trouble, D.R.I., Sacred Reich, Hirax, Dark Angel, Morbid Angel and many more…) which produced the album says: “not since Trouble have I worked with a band in his genre so talented. Yidhra! I have no clue what the name means, but to me it means DOOM!” Need I say more?

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.7 out of 10