Terminal cowardice. We’ve all encountered people worthy of the diagnosis. Those so devoid of courage, they become a caricature. An ornate facade of overcompensation, yet those who have the ability to do so, see it for what it is: hollow. If you frequent social media, you’ll have seen this word pop up with six others; fear, anger, rage, disgust, loathe, and despise. All words which fall under the umbrella of the cowardly. There are countless other, albeit vulgar, words to describe the trait but there’s a phrase missing. Need a clue? On July 16, H.O.U.N.D.S will expose you to the true nature of the ‘Yellow Belly’.
With every release, the hardcore five-piece have shown another facet to their arsenal. Yet, this serves another purpose. ‘Yellow Belly’ closes out The Acts; a trilogy which examines the darker side of otherwise shiny happy people.
In the opening seconds, H.O.U.N.D.S put us on edge with menacing guitar licks crawling from the residuals of spine chilling chords. The bastard child of its predecessors, ‘Yellow Belly’ winds down the tempo while cranking up the antagonism. Weighing in at two minutes forty five, this is a slab of brutality to the point Anthony Burgess may have questioned the ultra violence.
Donning his bowler hat, villainy drips from Ash Hoy’s trademark scream as “I see the fear/ In your eyes” buzzes through the speaker. Droogs assembled, H.O.U.N.D.S breathe down the neck of the yellow-bellied trying to escape. Crawling through an instrumental vortex of crushing riffs bordering on sludge in design make it nigh impossible. “Rage is the liar/ Fear is your destruction” Hoy barks with charismatic rhythm, bullshit detector never sliding out of first gear.
The bass dominant interlude scorches the way lungs feel as they fill with cold air. Josh Lawrence’s drums shatter the chest cavity as if he were taking a bust of Beethoven to our ribcages. Just as the coward thinks they’ve escaped, a low, gut-wrenching scream from Hoy destroys the sanctuary. Milk drained, the hyper-aggressive version of Burgess’ Alex stalks the night again.
Turning the tables, layers of screams and an unidentified click sparks auditory hallucinations. Has our milk been spiked or are the droogs hunting us? An uncharacteristic growl from Hoy sparks a crunching instrumental that hits like a pipe to the skull. Yet the death rattle of Hoy’s raw, isolated vocal will prompt a bodily fluid or two to trickle down the leg of the ‘Yellow Belly’ at close.
Bloodlust sated, H.O.U.N.D.S can stalk away into the night, chaos in their wake. How long will this pack of rabid wolves be gone? Who’s to say. There’s something coming… but we wouldn’t know about that.
‘Yellow Belly’ releases on July 16 across all major streaming platforms. For the latest news from H.O.U.N.D.S, including new releases and tour dates, click here, or follow their social media below.
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