Hunter City Madness
See You In Hell

June 2010
Released: 2010, Independent
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Shawn Jam Hill

A self-described metalcore band with rock influences from way up in Ottawa, Canada, Hunter City Madness’ debut EP starts off with western-tinged slow burner "See You In Hell". Frontman Justin Gow possesses a wizened growl on this sparse opener replete with crisp production and a warm sound. I hope it gets heavy…(though I enjoy the rhyming of 'booze' with 'dues'!)



"Pleatherface" kicks in with a stop/start chug reminiscent of A Life Once Lost’s less complex arrangements as skilful guit-box noodles get backed up by some bad-ass bass bombs. The groove is solid and the energy is high with just the right melding of melody and dissonance made famous by the almighty Every Time I Die, a group whom HCM may very well worship (and yes, that is a compliment). Keeping the spaghetti theme intact, "Bad Venom" begins with a 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' homage (I think…Hollywood is not my forte) only to descend into a crashing wall of double-bass inflected bombast and more of those groovy, guttural vokills, meaty stuff rounded out by some truly inspired six-string squiggles. "Booze Hounds" is a swaggering Southern-inflected jam that riffs a little Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster boogie while maintaining the HCM tone, one I find more pleasant as this terse 7 song missive rocks on.



As a genuine fan of all things rock and metal I think HCM bridges that gap admirably while staying true to their sound. The clean parts are still a little dirty and that wall of guitar noise is omnipresent. I bet this slays hard live because HCM sound bound and determined to rip it but good.