I'm probably already late to the party when it comes to this band (the hunting party in this case), as their demo already came out last year and I can't believe I have been sleeping on it! I had heard their name going around, but it wasn't until their debut 7" dropped on my doormat earlier this week that I actually got to hear them. And I have been hooked since. Therefore, despite the ridiculously hot weather today, I felt the need to stay inside for a little while at least and spent some words on this really cool EP.Like Synthetic ID, Hunting Party is a fairly new band from the San Francisco Bay Area that features (ex-)members of several other noteworthy hardcore bands from the past couple of years (i.e. Nightstick Justice (again), Ecoli, Migraine, Desolation, Vaccuum, and others). Being from the West Coast, it's interesting to see that musically they ended up sounding like a band that would have had no problem fitting in at an ABC No Rio gig in New York about 20 years ago. That period in the early- to mid-90ies in which bands on the East Coast of the U.S., were giving hardcore a much needed punk (i.e. DIY, non-jock, non-crossover) kick in the ass. Think Born Against, Rorschach, Citizen's Arrest and that 'Nothing's Quiet on the Eastern Front' compilation Lp. One of the things the feel of this record specifically reminded me of somehow was the great (and unfortunately all but forgotten) Eucharist Lp on Mountain records, except that it's more distorted and blown-out musically.
Despite these historical reference points, one of the coolest things about this EP to me, is that it doesn't feel like this band set out to sound like any particular other band or style per se. It sounds like they just ended up with this sound as a result of mixing all these different influences with genuine anger and energy. What I'm trying to say is: it doesn't sound contrived. They're not trying to follow a certain blueprint or something. I could have easily named tons of other reference points that came to mind while listening to this: Balance of Terror, The Swarm, Econochrist, Sacred Shock or the way the vocals on the first track reminded me a little of the Nerve Agents. And still, it doesn't sound exactly like any of the aforementioned bands. It just sounds like what it is: fucking angry, energetic, no frills, no bullshit hardcore punk. And of that, I can never get enough.
To close this off: I read somewhere that for their next 7", Hunting Party is teaming up with Iron Lung records, and that makes total sense as this band will apeal to the same people that also love stuff like Herds, White Wards, Walls and Artimus Pyle. I'm going to leave you with this cool live clip of Hunting Party playing live in May of this year. Be sure to check out this band!
