HARMS WAY
“POSTHUMAN”
Album Review by Lloyd Parkinson
8/10
Harms Way have had quite an interesting career path since they formed in Chicago in 2006. When you think of a Hardcore band such as Harms Way you just presume that they were a hard-hitting band from the beginning. However, this really isn’t the case. They started out together as a tongue and cheek Powerviolence band but are clearly now anything but that. Harms Way have completely transformed their musical trajectory and are now a full-fledged Hardcore outfit and one of the most respected within the scene. However, their new album entitled “Posthuman” is quite a different offering compared to their past work with a lot of Industrial style influences incorporated throughout the entire album. It’s important to note that this is the band’s first release with Metal Blade Records and will certainly prove to be a game changer for them. “Posthuman” is the band’s forth full length studio album and is a pinnacle moment for their careers as it proves that they have achieved their final form on monstrous “Hardcore”.
The band selected the well-respected producer Will Putney (Thy Art Is Murder, Every Time I Die) to work on this album. Not only that but this album also sees two new band members join Harms Way. New guitarist Nick Gauther has complemented the bands existing sound with some new musical concepts that is bought together with the new bassist Casey Soyk who has strengthened the band’s new industrial sound of “Hardcore”. ‘Posthuman” is a hybrid mix of straight up “Hardcore” with slower and more sludgy moments which you do not particularly hear from a band like this. However, this makes the album a more enjoyable listen compared to their previous releases. With “Posthuman” you can easily say that there is zero remorse throughout the entire record. The album as a concept and theme is dominantly about the prospect for an individual to involve into a stronger human being that outweighs anyone else. This is 30 minutes of pure charge at its finest and not a single second is wasted. “We’ve always stayed true to who we are and allowed the song writing process to take shape organically from record to record, and as the band has progressed, our sound has become more refined with metal and industrial influences,” states drummer Chris Mills, while guitarist Bo Lueders succinctly sums up what people can expect when they first spin the record: “To a Harms Way fan, I would describe ‘Posthuman’ as a blend of ‘Isolation’ (2011) and ‘Rust’ (2015), but it’s sonically way more insane. To anyone else, I would simply say it’s full on heavy and full on aggression.”
This album explodes into a frenzy of pure aesthetical brilliance with the first track “Human Carrying Capacity” which certainly sets the level for the following nine tracks. What I think this track does is conceptualise the band’s new approach to their industrialised style of “Hardcore” which is brilliant for a first track. Cliché as it sounds you will love it or hate it. But, in my opinion this is certainly not the latter. Upon listening to this first track its dominantly apparent that the band have taken a new musical stance at their art but it’s like a steamroller for a myriad of reasons. The production and rough texture really gives a sense of dark atmosphere. The second track on this album entitled “Last Man” slowly builds momentum and intensity. It begins with a bulldozer of hard hitting guitar rhythms and then settles for a few moments before returning to complete carnage. The industrial characteristics on this track really gives the band’s tone an ominous and frightening edge.
“Posthuman” is arranged in a brilliant way and is a robustly structured album. The forth track “Temptation” provides an interlude of calm from the carnage of heavy bass tones whilst the ninth track “The Gift” proves that the band can also craft a more ambient sounding track which gives the album a diverse character. Overall, Harms Way have really unleashed a complete game changer and impressively defined their sound with “Posthuman”. This album proves that the band have come an incredible way in terms of musical character since forming as somewhat of a joke. You can’t relate this album to any other band’s previous work as it really is that different but this is certainly not a negative thing. This album is a solid effort from Harms Way and I recommend it to fans of “Hardcore” and those who are unfamiliar with the band.
BAND LINE-UP
Chris Mills: Drums
Bo Lueders: Guitar
James Pligge: Vocals
Casey Soyk: Bass
Nick Gauthier: Guitar
TRACKLIST
Human Carrying Capacity
Last Man
Sink
Temptation
Become a Machine
Call My Name
Unreality
Dissect Me
The Gift
Dead Space
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