Sunday 23 June 2019

Hanging The Nihilist - Crow EP


Label: Prime Collective
Formats: Digital
Release Date: 25 Jan 2019

Tracklist:

1. Abandoned
2. Endless Crime
3. Filth
4. Forgotten
5. Hostile

I'm sure I've said this before but this year is going too damn fast! I can't keep up, so I'm resigning myself to the fact that I never will. I'm forever chopping and changing my review schedule but I have a master list of 2019 releases and this EP from Danish deathcore band Hanging The Nihilist was the next one on it. "Crow" is actually the sextet's debut and it was released earlier this year with the help of Prime Collective. It's available digitally. The band is due to hit the UK in early July to play at this year's edition of UK Tech-Fest.

Deathcore is still a thing and it still has a valid presence within the extreme metal scene. Hanging The Nihilist is one of the sub-genres newest protagonists and their sound is solid and definitely polished in the production department. EP opener Abandoned is filled with dramatic synths, breakdowns and vocals that range from deep growls to screeching shrieks. Not surprising elements given their chosen musical direction but it all fits together well. It’s easy to see why they’re playing UK Tech-Fest this year, as the song-structures on “Crow” are technical and rhythmically challenging at times. On Endless Crime, they resist the temptation to go djent and inject the song with warp-speed drumming and bucked loads of death metal.

If you’re familiar with “This Is Love, This Is Murderous” by Bleeding Through then this EP may bring back moments of nostalgia for you. That being said, Hanging The Nihilist is by no means copying any band and as Filth demonstrates, they have their own approach that’s rooted in classical music as much as it is in modern metal. I seem to recall that Russia had a pretty big deathcore scene some years ago, I’m not sure what happened to it though. Back to the here and now and Forgotten has the gnarliest deep breakdown in it and to my ears this is the heaviest song on the EP. It’s got more of an atonal sound/atmosphere going on too.

Closing song Hostile is a bruising way to end but the symphonic textures added by the synths do temper the brutality. Heaviness seems to be subjective amongst fans of metal and while ardent listeners might say otherwise, this is heavy and Hanging The Nihilist has done a great job on their debut. Hopefully with their next release they’ll loosen the chains and go for the throat, in volume/production terms. 

Stream and purchase "Crow" digitally below:-



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