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Hegemon is a French Black Metal band whose drummer I'm told worked with cult band Mutiilation. We're far from the Mutiilation sound however, as Hegemon's music is catchier, more commercial (without being commercial, but Mutiilation is anything BUT so...), well let's just say it will appeal to more people without going #1 in the charts.

This is a very good Black Metal album that I really enjoy listening to repeatedly. None of the BM trends that we run into nowadays like female vocals and keyboards, yet the music is not raw either - they just make pretty good use of "standard" metal instruments. The vocals are pretty good, extreme BM vocals (no clean vocals) and the singer does a good job at it - i.e. he's not annoying. Cool. Some other vocalists should take notes.

Except for the 8th track, an acoustic interlude, the music on the album is pretty much fast, heavy Black Metal, although not as fast as the likes of Marduk and Setherial. I think it's actually catchy enough to interest non-BM fans if they can get past the vocals. Stand out tracks include A New Hatred, A Wandering Beyond, Chaos Supreme and Underneath the Fortress. There is no weak track on the album however - all in all you get your money's worth and more. Very good cover art as well. My only complaint really is that the lyrics are not included.

I'm told this album is limited to 500 copies so it's not necessarily easy to find, although I've seen it on eBay, so look there, your odds are better than looking for a regular distro that carries it. Highly recommended.