HURON — War Party (review)

HURON — War Party album cover EP · 2012 · Groove Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Huron
CD REVIEW: Huron “War Party” EP Published Tuesday, May 29, 2012 By Saj Perez. Under CD Review, Editor: Jacqueline Parker, Writer: Saj Perez Tags: CD Review, Huron, UK, War Party EP

There is nothing quite like having a nice groove in a metal song. Sure, as a metal head, I love a straightforward blast beat as much as the next head banger, but there is something about that GROOVE that just makes your whole body bang. Huron, from the United Kingdom, definitely have that in spades.

If you hear their earlier stuff, it’s a straight-up tribute to Pantera, the fathers of groove-metal. No one wrote a better metal groove than Pantera, and while Huron tried to do their best impersonation, it just fell flat. Thankfully, in their new EP War Party, Huron has shed their Pantera-tribute skin and crafted four songs that stand alone.

Kicking it off with “Fight for your Life,” the band wasted little time in getting into the meat of their music, with a hummable riff that sticks to you like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth. Singer Sean Kenivel comes in with a kick to the gut, an almost Southern-like snarl that immediately brings you into Huron’s musical world. His distinguishable voice seems to bridge the metal underground with an almost Five Finger Death Punch/Godsmack vibe to it, while making it his own. It may seem familiar but it stands out nonetheless.

The riff work in “Mercy Killing” by Neil Sims and Rimmy Sinclair shows that these guys know how to write riffs to get the body moving. It’s simplistic in that it’s not a bunch of riffage forced into a song, a trend that seems to have taken the metal world by storm but creates a mess for the fans. It’s simple meat and potatoes riffage, and you never get lost in the song. It’s basic and that’s a great thing.

The other two songs, “Room 174” and “Bite the Kerb,” have the same adrenaline rush the rest of the EP shows. Sure, the EP has only four songs but they come at you quick and stick with you. You aren’t bogged down by numerous time changes, interlude pieces, or unnecessary riffs. There’s nary a piece of musical fat on this. It’s pure muscle.

The most obvious thing for me is the production quality. It has most definitely stepped up since their previous album Mary Celeste, which sounded like it was mixed and mastered with the intent of it sounding like it was recorded underwater.

Huron is a band poised to make a big splash here in America. There’s not much negative to say about this record, other than that it’s only four songs. Hopefully there won’t be too much of a gap in releases so more people can be exposed to Huron, a band that does modern metal the way it’s intended.
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