Hostilia “Face the Fire”
On its debut full-length album, Hostilia gives us thrash metal of the best kind.
I haven’t been this excited about thrash metal since I first heard Metallica’s “Kill ‘Em All”. As close as this is to the sound of early Metallica, as far away it is from the polished (and boring) sound of modern-day Metallica. There is nothing fancy about Hostilia’s music. This is unpolished, old-school thrash metal. Just the way I like it.
Growing up in Gothenburg surrounded by death metal bands, the Hostilia boys somehow drew inspiration from an older generation and turned it into a terrific thrash metal sound when they founded their own band in 2021. Hostilia manages to create new old-school thrash without sounding retro or dated. This is here and now. And it is good.
We get furiously fast and aggressive guitars on top of a relentlessly heavy drum foundation. “Power Out”, “Face the Fire”, “Bone Collector”, “Shadow People”, “Lord of Lies” and “Eternal Death” are immediate favourites on this nine-track album that lacks fillers. It is all good stuff. On the instrumental track “The Storm”, Anders Björler (of At the Gates and The Haunted fame) and his guitar make a guest appearance as a tip of the hat to the Gothenburg scene that laid the foundation for the new generation of bands.
This is great stuff. Am I allowed a request? Maybe it’s just me, but I almost always want more bass in the mix. The bass sometimes gets buried under the splendid guitars on some of the songs. Turn it up, please.
Hostilia’s debut full-length album “Face the Fire” is out now via Hammerheart Records.
