Hacride - Deviant Current Signals
Listenable - posh069 - 2005
By Patrick Walsh
Like fellow Frenchmen Gojira, Hacride seem to be straddling the new wave of bands influenced by Meshuggah, incorporating all manner of weird time signatures, speedy thrashouts and screamo vocals to boot. However, it would be unfair to write Hacride off as mere clones, as this band have much to recommend them, and, like Gojira, show a large amount of potential in this, their debut release on Listenable Records.
'Human Monster' opens proceedings, and is probably one of the album's most straightforward offerings, being a technical thrash workout, and has a very good (not to mention odd) solo to boot. The Meshuggah influence becomes more obvious on 'Typo', particularly when they insert some electronics to accompany the staccato riffage ('Future Breed Machine' anyone?). Hacride aren't copyists though, and the relative rawness of this release lends it a harsh impact that would have certainly been lost if they'd plumped for a more polished prouction. There's a real 'wall of noise' sound to this recording, and sometimes the myriad of riffs, leads and screams sound like they could descend into an unlistenable mess. They never do, thankfully, but the screamed vocals definitely need a bit of variation, as they threaten to throw a dampener on an otherwise solid effort. Melody isn't completely absent, as 'This Place' demonstrates for a while with the insertion of a chorus that wouldn't sound out of place on an early Soilwork album. Aforementioned track also winds down with some excellent middle-eastern sounding leads and percussion that could be lifted straight from a Melechesh album. Just when you think you're beginning to see where Hacride are coming from, 'Protect' arrives with some Pantera-style pinch harmonics and even some blatant Anselmo vocalisms, and then switches tune completely and morphs into a psuedo-jazz workout complete with saxaphone! Hacride have absolutely no shortage of ideas, and a very developed sense of how to convey a variety of moods (although it's for the most part set to 'pummell').
With Deviant Current Signals, Hacride have created a veritable treasure trove for those tiring of modern thrash's recent tendeny towards flippant retro baiting and backward thinking. Hacride are, on the contrary, intent on dragging the very term into the modern age with its aggression and danger intact, whilst applying the lessons learned from the intervening decade since the genre first lost its hold on metal's consciousness. Listening to Deviant Current Signals is akin to hearing an amalgamation of the many faces that thrash has mutated into in recent years, from Meshuggah-like technical wizardry and polyrhythmic excess to Pantera's face-ripping-yet-catchy bludgeon. It's not perfect by any means, not every song here is great unfortunately, an improvement in the vocal department would be nice and in future they might consider being a little less forthright with their influences, but this is about as solid a debut as they come.
7.5/10
Official Hacride Website
Official Listenable Records Website
Listenable - posh069 - 2005
By Patrick Walsh
Like fellow Frenchmen Gojira, Hacride seem to be straddling the new wave of bands influenced by Meshuggah, incorporating all manner of weird time signatures, speedy thrashouts and screamo vocals to boot. However, it would be unfair to write Hacride off as mere clones, as this band have much to recommend them, and, like Gojira, show a large amount of potential in this, their debut release on Listenable Records.
'Human Monster' opens proceedings, and is probably one of the album's most straightforward offerings, being a technical thrash workout, and has a very good (not to mention odd) solo to boot. The Meshuggah influence becomes more obvious on 'Typo', particularly when they insert some electronics to accompany the staccato riffage ('Future Breed Machine' anyone?). Hacride aren't copyists though, and the relative rawness of this release lends it a harsh impact that would have certainly been lost if they'd plumped for a more polished prouction. There's a real 'wall of noise' sound to this recording, and sometimes the myriad of riffs, leads and screams sound like they could descend into an unlistenable mess. They never do, thankfully, but the screamed vocals definitely need a bit of variation, as they threaten to throw a dampener on an otherwise solid effort. Melody isn't completely absent, as 'This Place' demonstrates for a while with the insertion of a chorus that wouldn't sound out of place on an early Soilwork album. Aforementioned track also winds down with some excellent middle-eastern sounding leads and percussion that could be lifted straight from a Melechesh album. Just when you think you're beginning to see where Hacride are coming from, 'Protect' arrives with some Pantera-style pinch harmonics and even some blatant Anselmo vocalisms, and then switches tune completely and morphs into a psuedo-jazz workout complete with saxaphone! Hacride have absolutely no shortage of ideas, and a very developed sense of how to convey a variety of moods (although it's for the most part set to 'pummell').
With Deviant Current Signals, Hacride have created a veritable treasure trove for those tiring of modern thrash's recent tendeny towards flippant retro baiting and backward thinking. Hacride are, on the contrary, intent on dragging the very term into the modern age with its aggression and danger intact, whilst applying the lessons learned from the intervening decade since the genre first lost its hold on metal's consciousness. Listening to Deviant Current Signals is akin to hearing an amalgamation of the many faces that thrash has mutated into in recent years, from Meshuggah-like technical wizardry and polyrhythmic excess to Pantera's face-ripping-yet-catchy bludgeon. It's not perfect by any means, not every song here is great unfortunately, an improvement in the vocal department would be nice and in future they might consider being a little less forthright with their influences, but this is about as solid a debut as they come.
7.5/10
Official Hacride Website
Official Listenable Records Website
