Hellixxir - 2025 - Beyond The Frame

(62:24; M & O Music)

Track list:
1. Genesis 0:28
2. The Sun Will No Longer Rise 5:55
3. An Overview of the Great Beyond 6:15
4. Far Away From My Precious Life 4:37
5. Worst Day of Your Life... Best Time of My Day 5:50
6. Birth of the Goodness 4:07
7. Prelude to the Shrouded Path 1:34
8. A Gathering for All Wasted Souls 6:47
9. Larvatus Prodeo 5:09
10. Ad Nauseam 5:41
11. Hunting the Hunter 4:48
12. Homo Patiens 4:02
13. Verses of the Final Purge 7:11

Line-up:
Alexandre Manin - vocals
Alexandre Moulin - bass
Matthieu Laforet - guitars
Laurent Couarraze - guitars
Romain Charbonnier - drums


French band Hellixxir can celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, at least if the information on the Metal Archives website is trustworthy. It would appear that the band have had some spells of inactivity during all those years though, which may be the reason for why this band as of 2026 only have four full length albums to their name. The most recent of these is "Beyond the Frame", which was released in the late fall of 2025 through French label M & O Music.

As one might assume from the name of the band, the name of the album as well as the artwork, this is a band with their feet firmly placed inside of the metal universe. In this case a band that knows their way around a few different iterations of the form, but arguably with something of a foundation in thrash metal.

That being said, the majority of the compositions here will actually alternate between parts with more of a thrash metal expression and passages with a more defined and intense extreme metal oriented mode of delivery. Typically with a bit of an ebb and flow pattern as an ongoing feature, and with smooth transitions and lapses from one form to the next being the order of the day. In addition to the difference in pace and intensity the vocals will often subtly change as the band moves between forms too, thus further emphasizing the differences in style and execution between the alternating passages. 

Hellixxir does expand upon their two main pillars just a bit too. For starters we have several songs that also get some manner or other of a gentler, more atmospheric laden interlude. Side steps into more of a doom metal oriented landscape do occur on occasion too, as well as some inclusions and side steps into a more traditional form of heavy metal. Most prominently explored on the generally gentler and calmer 'Homo Patiens' that appears towards the end of this album. We also get quite a few snippets of what I'd describe as features with a more cinematic nature to them, as in being sounds and effects rather than music as such.

I find this to be a solid production on all fronts, very much in line with the kind of material I'd expect to hear from a now seasoned band. The songs are efficient and captivating in their own right, we get the amount of variation required to keep matters interesting, and a band that knows their way around how to make use of alternating ebb and flow patterns in their compositions. A productio worth tracking down by those who enjoy bands that combine extreme metal flavored forays existing as an almost half and half presence inside of a thrash metal context, and arguably also the other way around.

Olav M. Björnsen, March 2026

Links:
https://www.hellixxir.com/
https://www.m-o-music.com/