REVIEW: Häxan - Death Of Me

Hailing from South Wales, the female rock trio Häxan has wowed audiences with their big riffs and vocals since 2016, making appearances at festivals such as Download, Bloodstock, and Malmo Rock Festival in recent years. Composed of Sam Bolderson (vocals and guitar), Harriet Wadeson (bass), and Jess Hartley (drums), they know exactly how to deliver bags of driving energy that you just can’t get enough of. The band’s upcoming EP, Death Of Me, is the highly anticipated follow up release to their debut album White Noise, which came out in July 2020. This EP is a great blend of metal and rock influences, bringing a unique flair to a familiar sound and truly showcasing the band’s evolution since their last release. 

The EP’s first and title track, ‘Death Of Me’ is stirring and anthemic, with an incredibly catchy melody delivered by Sam’s superb vocals. The lyrics are particularly striking, exploring themes of betrayal and the inner conflict of wanting to escape but knowing, in the end, that you wouldn’t even if you had the chance. It's an excellent track to kick off the EP! We quickly move on to ‘Sirens’, driven forward by punchy drums and soaring vocals throughout. Again, the lyrics hold a powerful message, all about you willingly committing yourself to your own damnation, and knowing it’s too late to do anything about it. It’s an entrancing track that definitely feels like it’ll be a crowd favourite at live shows.

The third track, ‘Thirteenth Hour’, starts off with stripped back instrumentals and just Sam’s commanding vocals, immediately making a lasting impression and solidifying it as a stand out track on the EP. We get haunting laments of “where are you now?” and “my time is running out”, followed by the electrifying power of the full instrumentals kicking in. This is a really masterfully crafted track that shows off the band’s talent incredibly well. Following on from that, ‘Burn Alive’ hits you with one of Häxan’s signature big riffs, capturing your attention right from the into and holding onto it for the rest of the song. There’s an ace instrumental section near the end of this track, steadily building up to another impressive riff and a final chorus that will absolutely be stuck in your head for days - in the best way possible, of course!

The last song, ‘Collide’, rounds off this EP really nicely - we get a final taste of those impressive vocals and uncompromising energy, providing a satisfying ending but still leaving you curious to hear more from the band. The little bit of a breakdown at the end and following tempo change keep things interesting, though definitely could’ve been a bit longer to have an even bigger impact.

Death Of Me marks a great return from Häxan and sets an exciting precedent for what is yet to come. If you’re looking for some good old rock but still crave something more novel and unique, this is the EP for you. You can catch Häxan on their upcoming Girls Just Wanna Have Funerals UK tour in June 2025.

Score: 8/10

Death Of Me will be self-released on May 23rd 2025.

Words: Zuzanna Pazola

Photos: Häxan