Those who are familiar with me by now will know that I like to gravitate towards things that are a bit different and unique, and a project that definitely falls under that umbrella is The Hard Way, a three-person collaboration mixing up electronic drum and bass music with heavy metal guitar riffs and ideas – and it just works.
Drum and bass is not really a genre I care for (unless I have a band that consists of only drums and bass guitars, I’m generally not interested), but The Hard Way have broken the mould and grabbed my interest right from the get-go. The fourteen-track self-titled album is one unholy slab of noise and cacophony, and this is what makes it so wonderful.
One of the best things about this album is the small little repeated ideas that crop up in different parts of the release, almost making it feel like one continuous track as a result, and it works great. It has to be said that on a few occasions, some of sections do get a little bit too repetitive – but that’s probably just the opinion of a metalhead that isn’t fond of the looped sections that are so prominent in D&B music.
Highlights of the album include Meatstick, which is a song that’s filled with so many hooks they’ll be stuck in your head to days, and THW Wrecking Crew, which is a crazy little number that seems destined to be played in a live environment as people move about to it.
The Hard Way is an innovative and unique release from the band, and I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on them to see where they go next.
7/10
