Hokum - The Creation Of Pain
Since their debut in 2008, Hokum has really stepped up their game. Infusing even more groove thrash and even what seems to be a bit of metalcore into their death thrash formula, they sound even more intriguing on their sophomore effort 'The Creation Of Pain.' Listeners should expect a good mix of technical beauty mixed with catchy, chugging riffs. The opening track features a bit of bass mixed with the guitar before falling into the chugging, hardcore-esque anthem riffs that go along nicely with the harsh vocals, which bellow along like they came from some metalcore album (they aren't quite as deep a lot of the time to be considered for death metal). When the clean vocals come in, sounding like they take a bit from stoner metal qualities, it adds some great variation to the music, but also seems to push it towards nu-metal with how the clean parts are usually set at the chorus. The thrash parts are usually ingrained in the solos, and are as good as they were on the debut. Other tracks like "Born From Treason" sound more technical in the riffs as they allow the bass to be heard clearly in short, rhythmic bursts while allowing the clean vocals to take prominence; again this shines in the quality of the music overall. There is even a bit of funky 'jazz solos' tossed in every once in a while which seems to lean towards a bit of Between The Buried And Me influence, but at the same time they are offset by the chugging riffs that just don't seem to mix well.
Another thing that Hokum do well is making good use of the epic structure. Some tracks last up to seven minutes long, but "Walking Ghost Phase" takes the cake at being ten minutes. To keep listeners engaged, Hokum starts out with technical, instrumental focused music before falling back into just basic chugs along with the vocals. Suddenly there's a few quiet moments and then the music jumps into this lengthy, progressive metal solo that is very melodic and will really grab listener attention. The music jumps back into the chugging bits and then fades out to some very spacey electronic influences that sounds like listening to whales sing on a sonar. It's a odd closing, but adds to the experimental side of Hokum. It's a complete contrast to "Eroded" which is fast, heavy, and more directly in the thrash vein of Hokum's past work. It's not as technical as it just chugs along mostly throughout the track, but the mix of harsh and cleaner vocals which almost seem to chant, especially when layered together, are well structured and allow the album to close on a memorable note. Overall, this will appeal to fans of thrash or groove metal, and perhaps even modern metal because despite the sometimes 'simple formula,' it is actually a very complex album.
Another thing that Hokum do well is making good use of the epic structure. Some tracks last up to seven minutes long, but "Walking Ghost Phase" takes the cake at being ten minutes. To keep listeners engaged, Hokum starts out with technical, instrumental focused music before falling back into just basic chugs along with the vocals. Suddenly there's a few quiet moments and then the music jumps into this lengthy, progressive metal solo that is very melodic and will really grab listener attention. The music jumps back into the chugging bits and then fades out to some very spacey electronic influences that sounds like listening to whales sing on a sonar. It's a odd closing, but adds to the experimental side of Hokum. It's a complete contrast to "Eroded" which is fast, heavy, and more directly in the thrash vein of Hokum's past work. It's not as technical as it just chugs along mostly throughout the track, but the mix of harsh and cleaner vocals which almost seem to chant, especially when layered together, are well structured and allow the album to close on a memorable note. Overall, this will appeal to fans of thrash or groove metal, and perhaps even modern metal because despite the sometimes 'simple formula,' it is actually a very complex album.
- Creation Of Pain
- Inexorable
- Born From Treason
- Soul Destroyer
- Dead End Into Doom
- Empery
- Walking Ghost Phase
- Blacken
- Eroded
