Himsa "Hail Horror" (Prosthetic)
By Taylor Green
Friday. Jan 27, 12:03 PM
The limits of a band expanding.

Himsa sort of came out of nowhere in 2003 with their second release (first on Prosthetic), Courting Tragedy and Disaster. At the beginnings of the metalcore craze, Himsa unleashed a brand of Swedish influenced aggression that seethed the same passion and energy of the band's unrivaled live shows. And now, less than three years later, Himsa are back. But with a new sound?

It's true. This record is a lot different than Courting Tragedy…, which initially led to me ask the inevitable: if it isn't broken, why fix it? But after listening through a few good times, Hail Horror is not a complete overhaul. In fact, if anything, Hail Horror has evolved the formula of the previous releases to result in a much more explosive listening experience. The thrash is faster, the death metal is darker, and the hardcore influence trickles down just like on the previous albums with that take-no-prisoners intensity. From the first 30 seconds of Hail Horror, with the crushing "Anathema," Himsa immediately come out more thrashy than before: and it's clear how much the thrash influence resonates in this release the further you progress.

However, one of the disappointing things about Hail Horror is its inability to compare to the live shows. While as intense – if not more so – than Courting Tragedy…, Hail Horror lacks something in the translation. John Pettibone's vocal mixes on this album seem to lack a lot of range, something that I have complained about many a time before with other bands in parallel genres. While it doesn't take away from the music as much as, say, Shadows Fall or The Red Chord, it nags at me in places where it really shouldn't. If anything, that's what holds this album back from being as impactful as Courting Tragedy... However, at times that furious roar fits well with the music. The easiest example of mastery would be on faster tracks like "Sleezevil," "Pestilence," and "Seminal," which not surprisingly are the highlights of the album.

With Hail Horror, the expansion of Himsa's approach to metal is abundant. Living true to their all-encompassing name, Hail Horror manages to push the limits beyond just Himsa, but the clashing genres as a whole. Much like The Agony Scene, their tourmates for Dirty Black Summer Tour and The Blackest of the Black Tour, Himsa's fusion blend of metalcore, Swedish death, and west coast thrash melds for a final product in and of itself. While not as groundbreaking as Courting Tragedy…, in many ways Hail Horror defines the band more than their previous efforts.
www.himsa.org
www.prostheticrecords.com

Listen to a song from this album in our Radio section!

Taylor Green

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