Kevin Hufnagel’s Newest Solo Album Defines Experimental

If there’s anything we’ve come to expect from Kevin Hufnagel it’s the complete unexpected. Cliche statement is cliche, but bear with me: the Gorguts/Dysrhythmia guitarist has been gracing our ears with solo material and various side projects for some time now, and not a one of them has sounded like another. “Experimental” is a word that’s bandied about way too often in metal journalism (guilty), but Kevin is a talent that no one should have any hesitation attaching to that term: every work of music he puts out is an experiment in something new.

When Kevin himself emails you and tells you his latest work, Kleines Biest, is his “strangest and most forward-thinking album to date,” then, you fucking attention. The blueprint for Kleines Biest isn’t really metal — it’s more a stew of ambient electronic noise, like Author & Punisher but without the visceral psuedo-beats or vocals — although metal shows its head here more than it does on some of Kevin’s other works. The title track and “Hidden in Pieces” showcase jazzy but vaguely death metal-influenced distorted guitar leads atop bizarro keyboard sounds, like something Vernon Reid would’ve played on his own more experimental solo work. It’s strange, to say the least, and it’s definitely forward-thinking, but it’s also really fascinating: this is not the kind of album you zone out on, or toss in the “heard it once” pile — it’s highly worthy of your attention.

Stream it in full below, via Bandcamp. It’s out now.