Six years since their last album, hardcore heroes
Will Haven return. Six years between albums would
kill most bands, Will Haven also had the distinction
of losing their frontman, which most considered to
be the final nail in this band’s coffin. With
vocalist Jeff Jaworski taking the helm, the band sound
as possessed as ever, enhanced by the production of
Chino Moreno (Deftones) and Shaun Lopez (Far).
The Hierophant sounds like Will Haven, plain and
simple. Those looking for some diverse new sound or
more accessible sounding hit singles will not find
them here, so you may as well stop reading. Will Haven
still sound like pissed off hardcore kids that secretly
collect doom albums on vinyl. As a matter of fact
Will Haven are one of the few bands of this genre
(perhaps the only) that could be as easily accepted
by die hard fans of Southern Lord releases as they
are by audiences that have watched them on tour with
the Deftones.
“Caviar With Maths” is one of the album’s
highlights for sure. Its industrial style opening
quickly gives way to a doom pinched, angst-ridden
kind of song that looks to eat the nearest cluster
of emo-kids. “A Day Without Speaking”
sounds like it could be a leftover from any of the
band’s previous albums (and that’s a good
thing, especially here). The title track and “Helena”
also usher the band into the here and now without
forgetting that the band are apparently wearing cement
shoes.
Normally a band not evolving much at all after six
years and a new singer would bother me but, you see,
I have gotten a string of albums recently of bands
I have enjoyed immensely over the years and they all
somehow feel the need to abandon everything I loved
about them. You just get sick of that after awhile
and that is a good deal of what makes The Hierophant
a triumph for Will Haven. This is a solid record from
a solid band that fans of hardcore, doom, and pinch-harmonic
oriented nu-metal can all sink their teeth into equally
hard.
Reviewed by: Mark Fisher
|
