All of you loyal Beacon of Speech readers know my affinity for Punk Music. Well, while searching for some new music on iTunes I came across a band I had never heard of before called Ho99o9 (Horror).
Before I even listened to one note of their new album The United States of Ho99o9, what first caught my attention was the reviews for the album. 10 [5-Star reviews], 0 [2, 3, or 4-Star reviews], and 10 [1-Star reviews]. So right off the bat, I knew I was going to hear some real polarizing stuff. Almost all of the negative reviews were the same, at some point the review said "not Alternative."
20 years ago, Alternative Music was a big tent. Today, Alternative is the folksy, derivative drivel of Mumford and Sons and bands of the same ilk.
If I was younger and didn't already fry my audial canals, Ho99o9 would be my new favorite band. They vaguely remind me of a few other bands, Death Grips comes to mind, for example, but every song I listen to confuses me even more.
I think they're rap, but I'm wrong.
I think they're industrial, but I'm wrong.
I think they're punk, but, eh, not quite.
Why does everything have to be in a category? For marketing, apparently. You put Ho99o9 in the Alternative Section and a bunch of whiny millennials cry that their brains are broken. You put Ho99o9 in the rap section and the closed-minded sheep can't figure out why their music doesn't sound like Drake or Kanye. Even I don't like their new single The United States of Ho99o9, from the album of the same name, but you should check out these 5 awesome songs that also have some really edgy accompanying videos.
City Rejects (2017) - from United States Of Ho99o9
War is Hell (2017) - from United States Of Ho99o9
Blood Waves (2016) - from their single Blood Waves
Savage Heads / Gates of Torment (2015) - from Horrors of 1999
Bone Collector (2014) - from Mutant Freax