Southeast German band Hellblazer was introduced to me on this year`s Obscene Extreme festival in the Czech Republic. Their performance had aroused my interest, so I was happy to receive this promo for review.

On "Promo Summer 2002" are 5 songs in a groovy uptempo deathmetal style with obvious grind influences; opener "Four" kicks off with the mandatory sample from `Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas` (why do all the groups pick samples from this movie lately?) and the following "Foul Is Fair And Fair Is Foul" shows what this band is best at.

Two vocalists, fast guitar riffs and insane rhythms - this brooding blend of music sounds very interesting as well as diverse: some of the guitarwork in "Born To Beg" even reminds me vaguely of CSSO.

The downside of this promo is the lacking production. The mix is very raw and doesn`t justify the guitarsound at all. With a proper production, Hellblazer might be one of the better things Germany has to offer, alongside Crack Up and Disbelief.

Contact: hblzr@web.de