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Haest

EP #2

Written by: MAK on 10/04/2019 14:06:08

It wasn’t too long ago I gave you a review for Haest’s debut ep, simply named "EP #1", yet the Hastings-based hardcore supergroup has unleashed their follow up EP, all still within a year of their very first show. The four-piece really isn't hanging about and are already preparing us for a full-length album. As a recap, Haest features Dan Flanagan, the guitarist of folk punks Matilda’s Scoundrels, Mark Tanner, bassist of skate punks The Barracks, Dave Cullern the vocalist of melodic punks The Dead Anyways and Dan Kinsey, the drummer of stoner doom act Wizard Fight, producing a sound heavier than most of these musicians have written for their other bands. Having only started performing shows in June 2018, the four-piece has already shared stages with the likes of The Dwarves and Revenge of the Psychotronic Man as well as performing at popular DIY punk festivals such as Pie Race and Wotsit Called Fest. With Manchester Punk Festival and gig with Leftover Crack in the diary, the only direction for this band at the moment is upwards.

“EP #2” truly picks up where the predecessor left off, doom inspired hardcore, fuzzy hooks and the rawest of vocals, creating a proper DIY atmosphere around the entire production. And like any true hardcore release, you can smash through six songs in about eleven minutes, which isn’t surprising when the track “Doom X24” is only 25 seconds long. Similarly, to the last EP, some of the songs had ridiculously long names, like “Always Put Your Shit Friends in the Bin” or “Alpha Foxtrot Radiator Igloo Cornflake Albatross”, or “A.F.R.I.C.A.” for short on setlists. Amusingly the track opens and closes with the iconic chord progression for Toto’s “Africa”. Haest has apparently hidden other famous riffs and melodies within their tracks, but I can’t find them yet.

Tracks like “As Destructive as It Is” and “Peel the Paint” stand out for their sluggish nature in riffage to start off with, showing the chugging doom Inspiration with deeper slow hooks, though they all come across unique moments that make them stand out on the EP. “Peel the Paint" Away for one closes out not too dissimilar to an old Mastodon track, with erratic drum patterns similar to “The Wolf- Is Loose. “Purple Blood (It’s Not Watered Down Enough yet You Lizard Fucks)” continues the elements of bouncy two-step hardcore, southern rock with heavy metal, like Cancer Bats meets Black Sabbath. The riffs come across as a slower version of the heavier segment in Cancer Bats classic “Pneumonia Hawk”

This feels like a continuation from the first EP, without a doubt, you could put both together and it would feel like an album, albeit still a rather short one. Haest has done a really good job of releasing so much in a short period of time. This is good quality hardcore that doesn’t necessarily fit the trend, sludgy doomy hardcore feels rather unique against the modern beatdown and two-step hardcore that commonly gets thrown at us, it’s different and gets your head nodding.

Download: Always Put Your Shit Friends In The Bin, Peel The Paint Away
For The Fans Of: Cancer Bats, Black Sabbath, Trial & Error
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 17.01.2019
Self Released