Saturday 6 July 2013

Horrors That You've Seen - Smokin, Skatin, Satan


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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