Hadees Drudge is quite an anomaly in Wellington’s metal scene.
Forgoing a second guitarist, they proudly rock one guitar in a genre where that’s almost unheard of.
But it works, and it’s been working for them since they came on the scene in late 2018.
They’re definitely no strangers to metal, and they’ve always been a band that has never stopped pushing the boundaries of what the metal genre can be.
If you are new to Hadees Drudge and don’t have a clue what that could mean, we’ll get to that soon, but first, an overview.
On Your Knees was their last album, released in 2020. An absolute unit of an album that decimated minds. Now, in 2024, the long awaited follow up, The Mind Lies When The Soul Dies is here.
As soon as you see these thirteen tracks, you know this is going to be a hell of a journey. The salt of any band is of course what they produce, and when you get a slightly longer track listing, you know it’s going to be even better.
If you want riffs, they’ve delivered, but if you want riffs that absolutely devastate, then you’re in for a treat too. If you want equal parts melody, thought and nuance, then look no further.
Opening with Pointless. A stunning piano intro leads you down the garden path of a long driving riff (we’ll get to the devastation soon) It’s catchy as hell and strong too. Once vocalist Duane Frew’s vocals hit, well did I mention that is also part of the devastation? Solid black metal-esque vocals, but fancier.
But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s all you’re going to get. With the ability to switch seamlessly between melodic and extreme, both musically and vocally, Hadees Drudge has really taken care to create quite the masterpiece of a follow up album.
Solid too. As musicians they have it down pat and execute it brilliantly. Punching with the type of tenacity you see in bands in artists with many more years under their belt.
Which makes it incredibly hard to pick a singular favourite track from this album. However, Timebomb is a pretty epic number with its Thunderbirds intro (for those who don’t know, best to Google that one) I absolutely adore the ferocity of Duane’s vocals on this. It’s a punchy riff too, hits in all the right places, great timing too.
Do yourselves a favour and don’t take my word for it. Go get amongst The Mind Lies When The Soul Dies. You’ll be sorry if you don’t.
Hadees Drudge ... This band appeared on the Wellington music scene in late 2018.
They have been rigorous in their promotion since then, including frequent gigs around North and South Islands.
The aspect that listeners notice immediately is that this is a 4 piece band of guitar, bass, drums and vocals. That breaks the norm of so many bands in this genre that have 2 guitars.
Beyond that, the interplay of drums, bass and guitar across the rhythmic structures produces their point of difference.