A Horrible Death To A Horrible Man

Escape Escape

Written by: AP on 26/06/2015 13:36:57

Despite forming five years ago, this Danish self-proclaimed ‘post-traumatic rock’ quartet has evaded the radar screen of most everyone, ultimately evidenced by the tragic turnout for their concert at KB18 less than a week before the official release of this mini-album “Escape Escape”. Pronouncing the band’s acronym AHDTAHM is a chore on its own, but the dark and distressing nature of their music won’t push them into stardom either, the trudging pace, noisy abrasions and lethargically sung, grungy vocals producing a challenging soundscape for all but the most ardent connoisseurs of noise rock.

I’ll paint you a picture: imagine the cavernous stoning of the band’s countrymen Black Book Lodge splattered with caustic undertones of a strong My Bloody Valentine, or even Neurosis influence. This is the territory in which A Horrible Death to a Horrible Man resides and honestly, it takes serious grit to power through the five tracks that comprise “Escape Escape” and resist the lurking sense of suffocation the music inspires. But there is nonetheless something deeply intriguing about the way Nick Ebert’s ominous, repeating bass patterns, Jesper Hesselbach & Peter Echwald’s grungy chord strums, Christian Lee’s propulsive percussion constructs, and Echwald’s drowsy singing are woven together in songs like - it’s all very low key, yet curiously present.

There is respite from the noise built into this thing as well, with the faster tempo, groovy grunge feel of Hesselbach & Echwald’s guitars, and the warm, piano laced bridge in centerpiece “Resurrection Creek” quickly establishing it as the most engaging song on the record. The Alice in Chain-y “There is a Tide”, too holds its own with an elegant interplay between lead and rhythm guitar, and wonderfully apologetic singing by Echwald. Final track “A Radient City Return Trip” will not be to everyone’s taste, but the atmosphere of doom and dread works splendidly with the gradual swelling of the track into a crushing crescendo in which the hopeless refrains of “All alone, all alone…” in particular leave a haunting impression.

Of easy rewards there are none, though, and as such “Escape Escape” is an album requiring the utmost patience and attention to detail even at just five tracks. Ultimately, it falls short because A Horrible Death to a Horrible Man never truly capitalise on their best ideas so as to launch their music into another dimension. The heavy infusion of noise rock and grunge works, but rarely inspires awe. How the band chooses to address this on a future full-length remains to be seen, but in any case, they’re ones to keep an eye on.

6

Download: Resurrection Creek, There is a Tide
For the fans of: Alice in Chains, Black Book Lodge, One Inch Giant
Listen: Facebook

Release date 21.03.2015
Mighty Music

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