Hundred Year Old Man - Breaching

Labels: Gizeh Records/Wolves & Vibrancy Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 27 Apr 2018

Tracklist:

1. Breaching

2. Black Fire

3. The Forest

4. Clearing The Salients

5. Long Wall

6. Disconnect

7. Cease

8. Ascension

It's been little over three months since the bewildering EP "Rei" was released by Hundred Year Old Man, but in just over a week's time they'll have unleashed their debut full-length "Breaching". It's due to be released on vinyl, cd and digital formats via Gizeh Records and Wolves & Vibrancy Records, whom both released that earlier EP. To celebrate the release HYOM are hosting a listening party on April 27 at SingleShot Vinyl Records & Coffeehouse (in Leeds) that will be followed on May 5 by a release show at Temple Of Boom (also in Leeds) with a host of bands joining them. I'll post links to both events below this review.

If “Rei” was anything to go by then this latest effort will be just as sprawling and epic. The opening title-track begins with rumbling low-key noise and distant screams, punctuated by subtle ambient melodies. As the song flows the screams and the ambience get closer, almost like they’re trying to make you sit up and prepare yourself. It’s only when Black Fire jolts into life that HYOM’s post-metal sound becomes clear. Slow complex layers of sound that mix sludge/doom with noise make for something loud and harrowing, while the vocals echo as if they were recorded in the mightiest of caverns. They’re definitely a better  at generation atmosphere than most bands, even when recorded. The choice to allow songs to follow one another without needless pauses is a good one, as Black Fire flows into The Forest. The continuation is perfect. The Forest has more urgency than its predecessor, while retaining plenty of droning/hypnotic power. 

As they did on “Rei” HYOM place short instrumental pieces on this record to add variance and a bit of respite from their heavier moments. They let the guitar work take over on Clearing The Salients and weave some amazing sounds with it. The lengthy build-up on Long Wall breeds a lot of tension and expectation. The orchestral touches and harsh vocals do nothing to ward off those feelings as HYOM hit a heavier seam. Sitting as I am in a room with the light gradually fading, the images that this song is creating are both vivid and affirming. Disconnect is a very aptly titled number because by the time you reach this point on “Breaching”, you’re already disconnected with the reality around you and venturing into different ethers. 

Cease is another ambient piece that uses feedback and samples to change the mood to haunting for a few moments. Lengthy album closer Ascension offers you one last glimpse of avant-garde/experimental hedonism, though it’s a glimpse that lasts over ten-minutes. Offering droning instrumentation, volume shifts and cinematic grandeur in both the vocal and melody departments, it has all the ingredients to make a truly unforgettable statement on an album that’s been crafted with such care and detail already. Heavy music in the year of 2018 is surpassing expectations and with the way that we consume music changing from digital platforms in favour of physical mediums again (albeit slowly), this record should benefit. Hundred Year Old Man has done it again and end-of-year-lists beckon. 

You can stream both Long Wall and Disconnect below:-

Hundred Year Old Man - https://www.facebook.com/hundredyearoldman/

Pre-orders are available from the links below:-

Gizeh Records - https://www.gizehstore.com & https://gizehrecords.bandcamp.com

Wolves & Vibrancy Records - http://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.tictail.com & https://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.bandcamp.com

Gizeh Records - https://www.facebook.com/gizehrecords/

Wolves & Vibrancy Records - https://www.facebook.com/wolvesandvibrancyrecords/

Hundred Year Old Man - Rei 12"

Labels: Gizeh Records/Wolves And Vibrancy Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 26 Jan 2018

Tracklist:

1. Sun & Moon

2. A Year In The North Sea

3. Rei

The first foray onto vinyl for Leeds' ambient/heavy post-metal band Hundred Year Old Man is a glorious one. The above three songs were pressed onto sumptuous single-sided black wax, with the other side being etched, by UK label Gizeh Records and German counterparts Wolves And Vibrancy Records. HYOM are currently carving a path across Northern Europe with Row Of Ashes, taking in stops in France, Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic in support of this release. 

We’re just over a month into the year and great music seems to be flying from all directions. Hundred Year Old Man are no exception to that and Sun & Moon is a swirling mass all of it’s own. Calming melodic ambience is joined by restrained drumming and guitar work, that backs up harsh vocals that are both towering and claustrophobic. Pushing boundaries seems to be in the DNA of many Leeds bands and HYOM truly encompass that here. A Year In The North Sea is a bizarre and sometimes jarring instrumental (mostly anyway) that builds in volume, though it’s a contrast to the song it follows as it’s length is kept to a minimum. 

Rei is filled with the band’s familiar ambient layers as it begins, before turning towards off-kilter territory. There’s a structure that seems to switch between eerie horror soundtrack-like passages and heavy sludge. It’s definitely unsettling but it provides you with a tangible feeling of just how experimental and unique HYOM are as a band. The engineering/production/mixing job of members Tom Wright and Owen Pegg is brought to life via the skilled mastering of Magnus Lindberg, which helps this record sound and feel very alive indeed. “Rei” has left me paralysed within these four walls. I don’t quite know what else to say about this except that it really needs to be heard, as me trying to describe it doesn’t do it justice.

You can stream "Rei" and purchase it digitally below:-

Hundred Year Old Man - https://www.facebook.com/hundredyearoldman/

Physical copies can be purchased from the links below:-

Gizeh Records - https://www.gizehstore.com

Wolves And Vibrancy Records - http://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.tictail.com/products

Gizeh Records - https://www.facebook.com/gizehrecords/
Wolves And Vibrancy Records - https://www.facebook.com/wolvesandvibrancyrecords/

Recollection - Paul (Hundred Year Old Man)

So after what seems like an age (it's only been a few weeks), I'm back with the 6th instalment of "Recollection". This time Paul Broughton from Leeds based post-metal band Hundred Year Old Man has heeded the call and sent me some musings about his ten favourite records. Enjoy.

Vision Of Disorder - "S/T"

This one is in my list solely for the fact that this album is what got me into hardcore. Before this, my tastes were a little on the nu metal side until my partner at the time gave me a copy of this album and opened my eyes to a world of hardcore. Basically everything started with this album for me and I haven't looked back since.

Refused - "Shape Of Punk To Come"

This is in my opinion the greatest punk album ever written. They took the best of what they'd done before then and cranked it up to 11! Another album that blew my mind as a kid and stuck with me ever since.

Converge - "Petitioning The Empty Sky"

A lot of people list Jane Doe as the perfect Converge album but for me it will always be petitioning.. Saddest day is a blueprint to how you can write a 9 minute song with zero filler and I'll fight anyone who says the beatdowns of Color Me Blood Red aren't some of the best they've ever heard!

Botch - "We Are The Romans"

Come on, this album is the reason half of modern bands are here today. Without Botch, there's no modern metalcore (some might argue that wouldn't be a bad thing) this is another album that changed the way I looked at writing music.

Bastions - "Hospital Corners"

A modern release that stuck with me since I heard it. Booked this band in a tiny basement show in Leeds before this album came out and then saw them shortly after at Hevy fest where they looked in their element in both situations. Such an amazing band and this album is my go to when I need a soundtrack to hating everything.

Gallows - "Grey Britain"

This is what a punk album should sound like. Something that captured the sentiment of society and distill it into something harsh yet equally beautiful. It helps that Frank Carter is one of the best frontmen the UK has produced.

Thursday - "Full Collapse"

An album that basically epitomises an entire genre. Thursday to me are THE emo band of the 90's/early 00's and this is the best thing they released in my eyes. Flawless from start to finish.

Glassjaw - "Worship And Tribute"

Hands down my favourite band. And this is the best album they've done. Taking the basis from "eyewtkas" and mixing it with a new found maturity, this record just nails it! Whatever IT is... 

Watsky - "Cardboard Castles"

Yeah yeah, hip hop. But to me this album is the perfect combination of lyrical prowess and talented songwriting. Plus watsky' one of the fastest rappers I've heard. Check it out along with his spoken word stuff.

Cult of Luna/Julie Christmas - "Mariner"

How could I be in the band I'm in and not love a Cult of Luna record? Combining one of the best post metal bands with Julie Christmas was a master stroke. Songs like Cygnus show what happens when a band take the effort to craft their music properly.

Thanks so much to Paul for writing this and you can listen to/buy music by Hundred Year Old Man below:-

Hundred Year Old Man Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hundredyearoldman/

Also, I'll be opening this feature up for reader submissions and will have the first one coming up in a couple of weeks. If you want to submit your ten favourite records, send your list and accompanying words to tnio@outlook.com (remember, the list has to ideally be based around metal, punk and the like, though I do make exceptions). Thanks.