Review
Sutekh Hexen
Monument Of Decay

This is the type of release that you might find yourself anxiously waiting for if, one, you are a hopeless nerd for the band (in which case I am) or, two, you find elaborate and unique packaging to be completely in your wheelhouse (double check for me); so Monument Of Decay from Sutekh Hexen is a perfect confluence of these two circumstances where I am concerned, and this record also has some interesting back story (little of which I will go to here) to make the release even more intriguing. Suffice it to say that there is another release out there that has different versions of these songs (that the current lineup would probably rather not have out in the ether), which lends a bit of comparison if only to catch a glimpse into how Sutekh Hexen at one time operated on some level as far as their sonic creative process is concerned (that always fascinates me).

Allow me first to wax a bit on the elaborate packaging with which the tape version special edition of Monument Of Decay is blessed (no disrespect to the simple and elegant LP version) as it is encased in a “ handmade, foil-stamped cardboard box that houses a color j-card, two vials containing human bone dust and blood, and several inserts with the tapes housed in a double-width snap-case with printed insert” (description lifted from Belaten’s own website); now, while this may sound weird reading the releases contents and paraphernalia, rest assured that the whole set is intriguing and completely apropos to the sounds that emanate from the tapes.

The flow of Monument Of Decay follows an upward trajectory and downward trajectory with the A-side starting with the ominous “Lastness”, which sounds like a far off storm that just might come crashing around the listener before giving way to a more internal mood like monks chanting in a crumbling monastery, and peaking later with the hyper kinetic “…Of Emanation” that shows the closest glimpse of the Sutekh Hexen of “old” with its black metal noise ministrations that conjure intense claustrophobic moods that intercut with spaces of noise that add to the tension building of the piece. The B-side of Monument Of Decay thrusts its supplicants into a downpour of a harsh noise wall via “?????? ???????? (Dhumavati's Hunger)” that ebbs and flows with some rather intriguing sounds poking through the sheer mountain of noise that hint at some black works beneath the fray before giving way to the less frenetic but still intense noise of “Dakhma (????‎)”.

In comparing Monument Of Decay with the “unauthorized” Moments Within The Current, one could say that both releases have something each bring to the table making each equally excellent and important releases within the oeuvre of Sutekh Hexen; the flow of Moments Within The Current feels better to me personally but that is simply personal preference and a case could probably be made in either release’s favor in that regard. The individual songs do indeed differ but you can hear the versions of Moments Within The Current in each of their counterparts on Monuments Of Decay with some being altered more drastically than others while the differences more subtle elsewhere, and the changes certainly do change the tone and mood of some of the tracks.

Monument Of Decay is an excellent release to bear the name Sutekh Hexen and though it differs from Moments Within The Current in some fairly obvious aspects, the overall presentation does not substantially change from them (save for those that I already touched on earlier); the obvious question for me personally remains in how exactly Sutekh Hexen will move forward following its release (answered in some part by the group’s EP, Become) as this release seemed to be a neat tidying up of the outfits sonic conversation.