Anders Hana is a modern day travelling minstrel, I'm sure of it. He wanders around Norway, guitar in hand, bobbing his head into studios and donating a few riffs before gathering his gear and adding his touch to someone elses record. With Jaga Jazzist, Ultralyd and MoHa! among his many projects you'd wonder how he had time for anything else - yet here he is again, replacing Nils Erga and giving Noxagt a taste of his noisy guitar experimentations. And what a difference it makes - that's not to say Noxagt have ever slouched before, yet the addition of Hana seems to have brought out the best in them and this eponymous album is their finest yet. Avoiding the trappings of 'metal' vocals their slashy doomcore never gets campy, yet surprisingly it never feels like it's taking itself too seriously either. It pounds along rampantly with throbbing basslines, powerful percussion and abrasive guitar riffs constantly changing tempo and key (just to keep us interested, you understand). I can imagine this is what Lightning Bolt might sound like if they had both studied for music composition degrees - it's technical as hell but wow does it ROCK. If you're looking for something with a little bit more structure than Lightning Bolt, something with a bit more bite than MoHa!, something tough and metallic without having to resort to buying Southern Lord records yet again - you need to check out Noxagt pretty damn promptly.A1 Histrionix A2 Wall's End A3 Soft Sugar A4 Ninety Parallels Ago B1 Coefficient Ascender B2 Satin Vengeance B3 The Impious One
