Horrors That You’ve Seen
Smokin’, Skatin’, Satan
Made in the Meth Lab
With ‘sludgecore’ becoming popular once again, here’s a slightly different take on the term with ‘stoner hardcore’ crew Horrors That You’ve Seen, with their latest four-track, the brilliantly-titled ‘Smokin’, Skatin’, Satan‘, the first release since their debut album ‘Breaking Hearts’. For me It’s a difficult one to sum up – hardcore elements generally mix well with sludge, as proved continually by the likes of Crowbar, Eyehategod, and recently, newer bands like Iron Witch. Within a sound more akin to stoner rock or metal, these elements seem far more juxtaposed and don’t seem quite as cohesive, at least not here as historically displayed by originators such as Black Flag or Saint Vitus – though the booming slowdowns that hardcore and stoner/doom share ought to go hand in hand. Still, HTYS for the most part do this well, most often laying down desert-soaked grooves and occasionally exploding into punk rage. They do finish on a cracking note, the closing ‘Cast The Witch’ finishing with an earth-shaking slow riff that warrants repeat listening. Perhaps though I’m just a tiny bit disappointed that the end product didn’t quite stack up with some awesome packaging – artwork of a pentagrammed pizza and a cassette tape from recycled card and hemp rope? Yes please. At least their dedication to the leaf is seemingly unmatched.
Stream it below and pick up a download or limited tape for yourselves
Peter Clegg
Buy/download ‘Smokin’, Skatin’, Satan’ here
Stream it below:
We Must Obey 
Reblogged this on CLDH.