When you need a hard kick in the butt to be inspired to do anything — mow the grass, clean out the den, figure out a problem at work, overthrow the government — listen to Hostility. This band from
With nods to metal heroes Slayer, Lamb of God and Pantera, Hostility delivers on its promise to deliver uncompromised metal. Their musical vision ensures them a place among the best in metal bands, since they have all the characteristics that make a band great: superb musicianship, an attitude now watered down with commercial radio acceptance, and delivering on their promises. There is no radio single in the nearly one hour of material. There is no ballad. There is not even a filler track to make you think, “Ah, they ran out of ideas.” The band — Greg Haran (vocals), Tony Vorrises (guitar), Brandon Sigmund (bass) and Andrew Holzbaur (drums) — assault you for just under an hour here.
And it starts with the two quick guitar chords that begin “Without A Chance,” which bleeds my ears with each listen. The overall vibe of this track is chaos. The syncopated drumming is amazing and includes a great double bass riff under a ride cymbal pattern what serves as an effective undercurrent for the guitars playing disjointed riffs. It is upon additional listening sessions, however, that make me appreciate Hostility’s vision for how metal should sound.
The chaos makes sense, as the band pays attention to detail. The drums sync up to the guitar rhythms and then are out of sync. The vocals are mixed with full intensity and in front of the mix but not overpowering the guitars. This isn’t Hatebreed or another crappy band that makes its presence known by screaming stupidity-laced lyrics. Hostility is intelligent.
Already, Hostility has an awareness of how to please their audience. Slamming their way through tracks like “None For All” and “Death As Leverage” have me eager to hear their follow-up release. Fourth track “Common Ground” features the cleanest- sounding vocals on the release. If you listen carefully, Greg spits out tirade after tirade against the evils of the world, finally telling the enemy to “shut your f*cking mouth” at one point. “Liquid Chaos” massacres with a slower tempo intro than the preceding tracks before exploding into a faster tempo, while “Conditioned to Fail” is the best track on this release. It recalls the best of the Pantera catalog — like “Mouth for War” or even “War Nerve” — displaying sophistication in the arrangement of the different pieces of the song.
Other highlights are “Iron Fist,” featuring some straight-forward death metal growls and blast-beat snare rhythms before the band screeches to its chaotic conclusion in “Last Man Standing.” All the best elements of the band — the confrontational vocals, the musicianship by the drums and guitars, the arrangement of the song, and the overall attitude of the band come full circle in this track.
I hope that Hostility finds itself on a national tour opening for bands that will draw a large crowd. Then more people will know the power of uncompomised hostility.
