Artist: Hemdale
Country: USA
Label: F.O.A.D. Records / Mierdas Production
Formats: LP
Year: 2025
Aaargh, Hemdale. Where to start? This is definitely one of the finest examples of a versatile and extremely powerful Grindcore band from the second wave that’s strongly incorporating lethal metal elements – Death Metal in particular. The band hasn’t been around for very long, basically only a handful of years between 1993 and 1997 and after 2013 with the current status of the band being a bit questionable. But, despite their rather brief existence, Hemdale’s musical legacy is unquestionably monumental. Not so much in the size of their discography, but even more so when it comes to their influence on the international Grindcore/Death Metal landscape. They have inspired literally hundreds of bands and continue to do so to this day.
Therefore, it is no surprise that once in a while attention is again focused on Hemdale. After their initial folding back in the late 90’s, Relapse Records decided to compile most of the band’s material to release it as the ‘Rad Jackson’ CD in 2002, without a question one of the most played Grindcore CD’s for me back in the day. But then came the band’s resurrection in 2013 in which the band recorded another handful of releases: split 7” EP’s with Doubled Over (2014, Fat Ass Records) and Fistula (2018, PATAC Records) and a split LP with Haemorrhage and Meat Spreader (2018, Left Hand Patches).
Although the later version of Hemdale released more than decent stuff, a little bit of the old magic was gone when founder Graig Rowe decided not to be part of the band anymore. His frantic and caveman-like drumming wasn’t only a vital part of the band, he also proved to have been a visionary when it comes to extreme metal. Somewhere halfway the 90’s he decided to give up his label Visceral Production and handed over some bands to Relapse Records. Relapse Records will forever be indebted to Craig Rowe as many of those bands, including Nile, Skinless and Exhumed, provided the label’s unprecedented growth from around the turn of the millennium.
Musically ‘Can You Smell The Stench ???’ is basically an updated version of ‘Rad Jackson’, again compiling the band’s early work plus the songs from the split releases that saw the light of day between 2014 and 2018. That means that instead of 37 tracks we are now presented with a whopping 49 tracks, now clocking in to a total of 80 minutes. Not surprisingly, this compilation is presented as a double LP and is well worth the time and money, as it an (almost) complete homage to one of the greatest bands ever to walk the realm of Extreme Metal.
In the unlikely case you are still reading this and have no clue about the band’s musical formula… Imagine a head-on collision between the originators of the Grindcore scene: Carcass, Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Repulsion and Impetigo. If you mix this all together and pour a little bit of the early 90’s more Death Metal-oriented Napalm Death in there for good measure, you basically have what Hemdale is about. Their great dual vocals, high pitched screams and low guttural grunts, are a true treat to the already very versatile and dynamic Grindcore/Death Metal fusion that revels both in deep grooves and frantic bursts of blasting madness. If you, like me, like to go through those old Dahmer, Mesrine, Exhumed, Nasum and Dead Infection 7” EP’s every once in a while, it is hard to not acknowledge the (mutual) inspiration of Hemdale.
Although 80 minutes is already a rather hefty piece of history, I am not quite sure why they haven’t included the first demo tape (‘Internal Rot’) as well and one compilation track that didn’t seem to have made the cut. Maybe it has something to do with the available space or that most (but not all) of the tracks from the first demo tape has made it to other early releases, be it in slightly different form. But, the slight incompleteness doesn’t take much away from the great historical and musical document ‘Can You Smell The Stench ???’ is. Besides the music there’s a twelve page booklet with loads of concert flyers and photos as well as an (excerpt) from an interview taken from the great Headfucker Fanzine, the inside of the gatefold jacket has all the original covers and artwork of the featured releases (oddly enough also including the one for the missing ‘Interntal Rot’-demo).
I am increasingly reading the phrase “what if…”, referring to bands that were about to leave a huge footprint onto the scene, but eventually didn’t, for whatever reason. I remember that even after Hemdale already folded for like two years, I kept seeing the name of their “upcoming” album ‘Jerry’s Massage Parlor’. Unfortunately, that was never materialized. I am not sure if it wasn’t recorded at all, or was just stuck in between demos and pre-productions when the band decided to call it a day, but for me this is one of the biggest “what ifs” of Extreme Metal. Hemdale truly had everything it takes to become a band as big as Nasum or the likes. But, for now they have to settle for a “legendary”-status… still not bad for a band that only had released a couple short players and never reached the point of canning a full-length album.
Thank you for the music.
