This is a review of "Black Square : Yellow Square" recorded by 30 Day Hex. The review was written by Tony Pasquariello in 2002.

30 Day Hex class themselves as "experimental rock" and bring us an 11 track album full of melancholic madness. With songs with titles like "Programmes like Nightrider and Airwolf" and "Lives on the TV screen", I knew this was no normal album. A sort of Frank Zappa and Led Zeppelin combined, with some electronica thrown in too. It is all very confusing, as you have to listen very intently to know what is going on. They like to create very subtle textures, and I was gripped for ages trying to pick out the layered parts.

However, the tracks tend to drag on a little bit, but there is enough going on in the background to keep the attention there. The use of sound effects by this band are excellent and they use them to their advantage. Sometimes, effects can be overused and the music can seem very boring, but there is never a dull moment here. One of the tracks of here is called "Phone" and it is a piece of music with a phone conversation layered over the top. One of the most bizarre tracks on here is "Picture of Acid", where there is an in-tune guitar playing chords, and an out of tune guitar picking the same chords.

The band seem to throw chord structures out in their songs and just basically seem to jam them through, which is not a bad thing, in fact its more creative. 30 Day Hex are not as mainstream as some of the bands I have reviewed, more underground and I like that. They have a 8 date nationwide tour coming up, and they are sure to impress. They certainly impressed me.