Hey hey! A returning band! I featured Horrors That You've Seen quite a while back when I reviewed their first album - Breaking Hearts, which was released at the back end of 2011. These canny Edinburgh sludgers are back with a four track EP, amusingly titled - Smokin, Skatin, Satan; which has been released on tape by Made In A Meth Lab. Since that first album was released, they've had a busy time of it.
They've share stages with the likes of Cloud Rat, Birds In Row and Bongripper amongst others, while lead vocalist Graham Caldwell has designed some great cover art for my first digital compilation, which might see the light of day eventually!
Tracklist:-
1. Rot & Decay
2. Hellraiser
3. Nuclear Bong
4. Cast The Witch
Not wanting to hang around, HTYS throw themselves straight
into opener Rot & Decay. Frequenting the sludgier and doomier side of
hardcore, HTYS are slow and heavy, while still holding onto that essence of core.
The vocals are low and vengeful, the guitars are a mix of down-tuned madness
and clever riffs and the low end consisting of the bass and drums underpin it
all with pace changes and heft. Rot & Decay is a bit of statement of intent
actually, as it lurches forward, occasionally stopping and starting but never
losing momentum.
Being from Edinburgh, you can understand why they sound so
angry. The weather must be pretty bleak in the winter and they probably get
annoyed with the tourists! It comes across in Hellraiser even though the song
is more mid-paced. It's more atonal a times, leaning more on HTYS's doom
influences. The guitars groove along nicely and towards the end that groove well
and truly makes its presence felt.
Nuclear Bong has some sinister sound effects in it at the
start, coupled with a slow as you like opening passage of riffs. It kind of
reminds me of the first time I heard Swedes Grand Magus. After the prolonged
instrumental build up HTYS settle back into their stride with more slow-mosh
antics. I can imagine some kind of crazy ass zombie pit to this!
Closer Cast The Witch takes what they did in Rot & Decay
and repeats it. Stop-start sections, rock n roll and more bilious vox. I'd
stick my neck out and say that some of the riffs here have elements of Cancer
Bats to them. Thankfully my neck isn't too long! The ambient mid-section leads
into one hell of a sludge-ridden phase, which is brilliant. The dual guitar
melodies are a prefect fit and you could just as well be listening to Crowbar
of Eyehategod.
I think four songs on the EP is enough. Enough to get you
headbanging and enough to leave you with a thirst for more. People who don't
smoke, skate or worship Satan need not apply!
Listen to it here:-
You can get the EP as a pay-what-you-like download from the band's bandcamp page above. You can also buy the EP on great looking green cassette from the page as well.
It's also available from Made In A Meth Lab. The tape is not yet up in their online store at the time of publishing this review, but you can head to their Facebook page for updates when it is - https://www.facebook.com/madeinthemethlab
Horrors That You've Seen Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/horrorsthatyouveseen
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