Isle of Wight juggernauts H.O.U.N.D.S set to cement their return to the hardcore table with a remastered version of the debut single ‘Beast’, which drops this Friday across all major streaming platforms. Physical music lovers can also rejoice as the remaster has been pressed onto 7 inch vinyl which you can pick up through Kingside Records who are offering 3 ‘Beast’ bundles:
Bundle 1: Vinyl & CD
Bundle 2: Vinyl, CD & Koozie
Bundle 3: Vinyl, CD, Hat & Koozie
The choice doesn’t stop there as the vinyl comes in an array of colours:
Black
Clear
Transparent Red
Transparent Blue
Transparent Green
Opaque White
Before Friday’s release, we caught up with frontman Ash Hoy to find how the remaster came to be, the band’s thought processes going into it, and the reason why the physical release was so important.
How did the remaster of ‘Beast’ come about?
It’s the first single we released back in November and we had already planned it that way before its release date. At the same time, we got signed to our record label literally 2 or 3 weeks before ‘Beast’ was released. We’d gone beyond the point of changing or moving the release date so we agreed with our label that we’d still go ahead with the initial release, but at a later date bring the remastered ‘Beast’ to them for their discography. It would also give us the perfect opportunity as musicians, not to necessarily improve it but just to give it a tweak here or there.
We owe it to our label and our management to bring that song to them and for it to be released under their mantra; they’ve been really good and they’re really supportive of us as a band and so we wanted them to be part of that release.
Would you say there are any massive differences between the original and the remaster?
When it comes to remastering, it’s about the overall sound of the song, and what we could make cut through more. “Can we make that double kick cut through more?”, “Can we make the bass cut through more?”, “Is there something we missed the first time round?”. There might not have been but as musicians you’re always going to be critical of your own work, so we’re always gonna be looking for those parts that we think “ugh, we’re not sure of that”. It’s more that we’ve tweaked the parts that we weren’t necessarily a hundred percent happy with. At the same time, we’ve not taken the rawness away from it and we’ve not taken the punch of the song out; if anything, we’ve tried to make it punchier. We’ve not done too much to it because then you run the risk of it being ruined and then you kinda wish you hadn’t done it. I think we’ve found that very fine balance and we’re very happy with the final sound.
What made you want to go for the physical release?
The reason we went for the physical release is, one, because it’s our first single. It was our first release since coming back to the metal scene because we were Dead Town Nothing before; we evolved the band, and we re-released the Dead Town Nothing songs for people to hear but ‘Beast’ was the starting gun for the next chapter [with H.O.U.N.D.S.] It’s a way of marking that moment as a band: “This is the start of the new era.”
In discussions with Kingside Records, we decided to go for a physical release as that’s something we’ve not been able to do before. We thought it would be a good thing to do as physical releases are becoming a thing of the past and a lot of bands nowadays don’t necessarily release physically any more because of the world and the music industry we live in. I always think there’s something special about a physical release. If someone buys that physical release, that’s theirs and they get to keep it and that feeling forever. Having that option of “Yeah, I can stream it but I can own it as well. I can have that in my collection” and giving our fans that option to own it physically if they want to. We’ve all got our personal copies and it’s a nice thing for us to keep because it marks that change, that moment where not only did we come back, but we got signed to record label at the same time. It’s a symbol of our achievement.
Be on the look out for an in depth interview with Ash soon, where we talk more about what’s in store for H.O.U.N.D.S, reinventing the band after closing the Dead Town Nothing chapter, and an interesting story about being asked to leave school premises because of a Cradle of Filth t-shirt. Some of you may know which one.
The remastered version of ‘Beast’ is available for pre-saving across all major streaming platforms before this Friday’s release. Limited numbers of that sweet vinyl are available for purchase through Kingside Records now. For the latest news from H.O.U.N.D.S, including new releases and tour dates, you can visit their website, or follow their social media linked below.
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