The compact nature of Northern Ireland’s rock and metal scene often means that when one band breaks up, at least one will rise from its ashes, usually with members of other bands making up the numbers. Thus from the dissolving of punk noisemakers Comply Or Die comes the somewhat rockier stylings of THVS. Comprised of COD vocalist Michael and drummer Matt, with added guitarist (and Michael’s cohort in Tusks) Dave, they released their debut EP Everyday Hexes on July 17th. We sat down to take a good, hard listen to it.
The EP opens with ‘Medicine Show’, all snarling riffs and budding tension. When the vocals kick in they turn out to be as distorted as the scuzzy guitar sound, and in a manner similar to Cancer Bats frontman Liam Cormier. Although the band class themselves as heavy rock, there is an undoubted hardcore/punk influence present.
Lead single ‘Dyin’ On the Line’ is next, with its deep, throaty bass and venom-filled lyrics. The bass line is complemented by a tough, sweaty riff which runs through the song.
The rather epic ‘Hudson’ follows: at over six minutes long it is pretty much double the length of any of the three otherwise short, sharp tracks on the EP. The song’s moody drums and distortion are rather reminiscent of Soil’s ‘Halo’ intro, before a big, dirty riff drops and livens up proceedings considerably. Tasty! The sludgy instrumental break and rather obscure lyrics suit the longer, more drawn out nature of this song.
Final track ‘Herman’ is almost the polar opposite of the previous number; it’s short (three minutes or so), with very few lyrics, and a slinky yet compact feel. It’s a hell of a number, with the yearning lyrics giving it a particularly poignant yet angry feel (“Why have you gone away?…I needed you again”), which slots in well with the raw character of the song.
Everyday Hexes, although created by a the cast of several bands both old and new, retains a feeling of being more than just the sum of its parts. Its rough-hewn and unprocessed sound give the EP an organic feel; a sense that the band simply jammed and hit record – very punk, it has to be said. The only niggle is that the vocals could do with being sharpened up a tad as they tend to get lost in the mix at times. That aside, this is a solidly impressive debut and we look forward to seeing what THVS do next.
◀ STANDOUT ⁞ Herman ▶
◀ SOUNDS LIKE ⁞ Cancer Bats | Architects▶
