Marked by relentless persistence and an ever-evolving creative spirit, the music of Edinburgh, Scotland solo artist Tommy Concrete pushes new boundaries with the album Hexenzirkel. Due out via Trepanation Records later this year, Hexenzirkel features an array of guest artists and incorporates unexpected musical genres to deliver a soundscape that fans of Devin Townsend, Ihsahn, The Gathering and Opeth will enjoy.
Concrete says of the album:
It uses the same musical ingredients as my previous work, as in it’s a combination of black, doom, prog, and trad metal. But this time I’ve tried to create a fusion of styles as opposed to swapping between them. This concept came from listening to 70s flamenco/rock fusion artists such as Al Di Meola and Cameron De La Isla. Hexenzirkel also contains elements of flamenco, trip-hop, rap, and alt-rock thrown in with the usual blend of extreme metals.
Lyrically, Concrete considers the album an exploration of psychosis of which he was diagnosed in 2019. A condition which he came to with during the global pandemic, in so far as it gave him the drive to create Hexenzirkel. The lyrics were written in order as they appear on the album, in almost diary format from March 2020 – May 2020.
If you like what we do, consider ing us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Concrete, who is autistic, experiences synesthesia which is the ability to experience sound and music visually. His recent Unrelaxed 1 & 2 albums had neurodiversity as the lyrical concept. This time Concrete decided to represent neurodiversity musically, by utilizing his synesthesia as a creative tool. In as such as drawing the music first and composing the songs to fit the shapes and colors. Hexenzirkel is literally the sound and shape (if your have synesthesia) of psychosis.
Hexenzirkel contains more doom metal influences than his previous releases. A genre he is more known for outside his solo work, having most recently appeared in three of the forty bands of the recent Doomed & Stoned in Scotland compilation, namely Psychotic Depression, Jackal Headed Guard of the Dead and of course Tommy Concrete.
He has taken a definite turn from his time with Scottish punk legends The Exploited, forging his own solo identity. Now with Hexenzirkel, his ninth solo album and the second with Trepanation, Concrete welcomes a wealth of collaborators to continue this musical evolution. “The word ‘Hexenzirkel’ is German for ‘witches coven,’ which I felt was an appropriate title as so many people have contributed to the album,” he says.
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Concrete is ed by the following vocalists:
- Laura Gilchrist of doom metal band King Witch
- Jenni Sneddon of witch rock band Juniper Grave
- Michael Brannagh of Tommy Concrete and the Werewolves and formerly American hard rock band Warrior Soul
- Christian Kimmet from Warrior Soul and American glam legends Love Hate
- Jamie Herkes from Tommy Concrete and the Werewolves and Scottish punks Critkill
- Bryan Ramage from prog metal band Ramage Inc.
Ramage also produced, mixed, and mastered the album.
Hexenzirkel will be available in CD and digital formats on 25th June 2021
Header image by Gary Cooper
