Below you will find excerpts from my journal. I use this journal to record the steps of my evolutionary path towards becoming a better warlock. Nothing has been changed to protect the innocent.
5-12-2013
‘This morning I made my first attempt at casting a hex spell on an inanimate object. I think that experimenting on non-living items is the proper course of action for two reasons. One, I don’t dislike anyone enough right now to use them as a guinea pig. And two, I may be evil but I am not malicious. A bale of hay by the side of the road provided the perfect subject. I said the magic words and nothing happened. At least not at first. After a couple of moments I turned my back on the hay bale and it exploded. Needless to say, that was NOT supposed to happen! I ran away before the fire department showed up.’
5-14-2013
‘After reviewing my notes and consulting the Warlock Wikipedia page I could find no fault in my spellcraft from the day with the hay bale. It must have been the inherent flimsiness of the object itself that caused such a volatile reaction to the hex spell. For my next experiment I will place a hex upon a fallen tree branch. The density of the wood should be able to handle the mystic forces I will weave into its cellular makeup.’
5-15-2013
‘Another failure. Well, at least there was no explosion this time. Good thing too! With how dry it’s been the past couple of months I would have felt awful if I inadvertently started a brush fire. I always liked that Smokey The Bear character. If more people listened to what he had to say about fire safety back in the day over half of this country would still be covered with trees. Too bad I don’t know any irresponsible outdoorsmen who don’t follow proper campfire-building techniques. Proper hex-fodder if you ask me.’
6-7-2013
‘Finally, I did it! I successfully wove a hex spell onto an inanimate object! A wrought iron bar to be exact. This just goes to show you that practice and applying the scientific method pays off in the end. Or maybe it was just a matter of third times a charm? I don’t know and I don’t care. The point is that whoever ends up in possession of that wrought iron bar will be cursed with one heck of a headache! Or was it bad karma? I’m not sure. But wait, I brought the piece of metal home with me. Oh no! What have I done?!?!’
Good day to you waveriders. Let me start off by telling you that this band, Wrought Iron Hex, had me fooled. The wool was pulled completely over my eyes. After listening to their new EP entitled III I would have sworn up and down that this was the third release from a veteran outfit. In fact, it turns out that WIH is a new musical entity and that this is their debut release. Okay, I’d just like to remind you that the title of the EP is III. Or put a different way; Three. And the music is fantastic! What was I supposed to think?! You’re on my side I can tell. I appreciate that. Moving on. Let’s talk about the tunes.
Folks, the five songs that make up this EP rock. They rock hard. No ifs, ands, or buts. The running time is just over twenty minutes, but you might want to look into an extended life battery for all of the repeat listens this EP generates. I would love to offer you a blanket statement that describes WIH’s sound, but I’m afraid I’m not up to the task. Wait. How about this one? WIH play very interesting hard rock/heavy metal music. Not good enough? Jeez, I thought you were on my side! Fine, I’ll delve a little deeper. Anyone with an affinity for the heavier music created during the 1990s without question needs to check out this band. That being said, there are several other eras of music whose influence creeps into the songwriting. Take the second song “A & A” for example.
The song begins with a superb grungy riff reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots’ “Vaseline” before transforming itself with a passage that evokes classic hardcore punk. Add in a mellow, introspective breakdown two-thirds of the way through the song before looping back to the grunge riff and finishing off with the hardcore punk again and you have “A & A”. It rules! “Guilty Conscience” lulls the listener into a false sense of security with a groove laden, down tempo introduction before unleashing the band’s full metallic power. “Across The River” reminds me of Cuatro-era Flotsam And Jetsam. “Santa Blanket” is the offering most heavily influenced by 1980s thrash metal. Lastly, the cascading guitar work in EP closer “Know The Truth” sounds to my ears like a metallized version of a riff you might hear on an old blues rocker from the 1970s. In a word; classy.
To sum up, Wrought Iron Hex is a band that I strongly recommend you check out waveriders. If you’re looking for something new, heavy, and interesting then look no further. I found a good quality live performance video of “A & A” that you can watch below, but if you would like to hear the studio version you should visit WIH’s reverbnation page. You can hear the studio version of “Guilty Conscience” as well. After that it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to the Fat Tongue Records website where you can order your very own copy of III. How ‘bout that?
--Penfold
Reverbnation Page - http://www.reverbnation.com/wroughtironhex
Buy Here - http://www.fat-togue.com/
Phil Grenier- Drums/Percussion
Scott Guthrie - Bass/backing vocals
Jason Hurache Foster - Guitars, words, vocals.
After the end of 5lb. Brown, Jason Hurache Foster found himself without a band for the first time in almost 10 years. Frustrated by yet another project ending, he had decided to take a year off from music and follow other passions. But the desire to write and create songs crept back in, and soon after he started to write music again with a recording project in mind. Acoustic jams started in the living room of his Allston condo almost weekly, and these often included his long time friend Scott Guthrie on bass. After a few years of honing these songs, it was time to make it a real band. The pair ran an ad on Craigslist looking for a drummer and quickly heard from Phil Grenier, a seasoned musician who resided just south of Boston. Phil had a lot of experience playing in various bands around New England and California, and became an invaluable addition to the band. With the trio now complete, the band started to rehearse the songs that Foster had written the past several years, and the music started to take its intended hard rock sound. Over the next two years, some of the songs where eliminated from the list while others where added. As the band started recording sessions at The Bog in Allston in 2011, discussions of taking the band from a recording-only project, to a live band where had, and shows where starting to be played. The studio recordings where completed in 2012, with the debut EP "III" released March 21st, 2012. The band continues on, with more shows in mind and more recordings in the works.
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