HEX A.D. – Surgical Cuts in the Cosmos

RELEASE YEAR: 2026
BAND URL: https://hexad.bandcamp.com/album/surgical-cuts-in-the-cosmos

Three years on from the near-flawless LP titled Delightful Sharp Edges comes a new output by the magnificent Norwegian doomsters Hex A.D., and that is cause for celebration if you are as much into the band’s potent mixture of prog rock, classic heavy metal, stoner rock, and old-school doom metal as this scribe is. Adorned by a fantastic cover that suits the atmosphere of the song material to a tee, Surgical Cuts in the Cosmos is a reassuringly absorbing, occasionally sprawling, always classy, and outright vital-sounding offering not to mention just the wonderful shot of gloom that I was hoping to get.   

While Delightful Sharp Edges was an epic and musically adventurous affair, Surgical Cuts in the Cosmos is just as exploratory in some ways yet it feels darker, rougher around the edges, and slightly more ominous – all of which are good things in that we get something that is equally captivating and full of textures as the 2023 opus yet it is not a mere copy or a rehashing of old ideas we are being served here. These chaps master dynamics as well as light and shade (check out “Death of a Thousand Cuts”) and throw up some wonderful surprises (the engrossing and hypnotic “P.I.G.” with its haunting spoken words being a good example of that), and “Perfectly Fatal” is simply begging to be played live and will undoubtedly enthrall fans of Uriah Heep and Black Sabbath. With former DIO guitarist Rowan Robertson having joined the band, there is a unique melodic quality and subtle bluesy edge to some of the tracks due to the great man’s style of playing that adds a whole new dimension to the Hex A.D. blueprint.

For whatever strange reason, Surgical Cuts in the Cosmos evokes the same occult vibes in me as the classic Secret Treaties record by Blue Öyster Cult does, which is obviously a huge compliment.