Himsa Hail Horror
Prosthetic Records 6561910029-2 February 7th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
Other than Lamb of God, Himsa could be Prosthetics most lucrative outfit, as Courting Tragedy and Disaster caused quite a stir within the eyeliner-wearing crowd. Frankly, Im completely baffled as to why I havent crossed paths with these Seattleites before now, but I suspect Hail Horror is a good introduction. Again, like a bucketful of groups on the labels roster, these five individuals play a brand of melodeath/metalcore that fails to satiate my hunger pangs.
Anathema is a solid leadoff for Hail Horror, because its genre-mixing is entertaining and keeps the listener guessing about what theyre going to do next. Sadly, that particular attribute fizzles out shortly after it introduces itself, though the razor-sharp riffs on Sleezevil atone for their comrades absence. The Destroyer is even better: the guitar hooks are layered with emotion, and are debatably on par with some forms of human/animal expression. Occasionally, Himsa opt for In Flames-esque melodies, and while this album is overly melodic, much of it is downright cantankerous, spewing breakdowns void of the clean sound that walks hand-in-hand with melodic death metal. Whatever the case, with the exception of a couple opuses, I think this is mostly standard work.
Perhaps Im being daft, but I dont understand what all the hubbub is about as far as Himsa are concerned. To me, it seems as if several other bands deserve the ever-moving spotlight more than this quintet do. Of course there are a few nice moments scattered about, but overall Hail Horror is a middle-of-the-road effort, which should prove easy to upstage. If I had to choose an album from Prosthetic, then itd be The Esoterics With the Sureness of Sleepwalking. Get my drift?
7/10
Official Himsa Website
Official Prosthetic Records Website
Prosthetic Records 6561910029-2 February 7th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
Other than Lamb of God, Himsa could be Prosthetics most lucrative outfit, as Courting Tragedy and Disaster caused quite a stir within the eyeliner-wearing crowd. Frankly, Im completely baffled as to why I havent crossed paths with these Seattleites before now, but I suspect Hail Horror is a good introduction. Again, like a bucketful of groups on the labels roster, these five individuals play a brand of melodeath/metalcore that fails to satiate my hunger pangs.
Anathema is a solid leadoff for Hail Horror, because its genre-mixing is entertaining and keeps the listener guessing about what theyre going to do next. Sadly, that particular attribute fizzles out shortly after it introduces itself, though the razor-sharp riffs on Sleezevil atone for their comrades absence. The Destroyer is even better: the guitar hooks are layered with emotion, and are debatably on par with some forms of human/animal expression. Occasionally, Himsa opt for In Flames-esque melodies, and while this album is overly melodic, much of it is downright cantankerous, spewing breakdowns void of the clean sound that walks hand-in-hand with melodic death metal. Whatever the case, with the exception of a couple opuses, I think this is mostly standard work.
Perhaps Im being daft, but I dont understand what all the hubbub is about as far as Himsa are concerned. To me, it seems as if several other bands deserve the ever-moving spotlight more than this quintet do. Of course there are a few nice moments scattered about, but overall Hail Horror is a middle-of-the-road effort, which should prove easy to upstage. If I had to choose an album from Prosthetic, then itd be The Esoterics With the Sureness of Sleepwalking. Get my drift?
7/10
Official Himsa Website
Official Prosthetic Records Website
