Hoods, The King is Dead
If you’ve never heard a Hoods album, and this is your first introduction to them, you are in for quite a listen. The band plays an aggression fueled style of hardcore that is often misconstrued as “tough guy.” And yes, with the lyrics “I Own You” showing up in just about every one of their albums, one can see where the misconception is based — it’s not a bunch of meathead jocks playing moshcore, just good old angry hardcore to the bone.
Track 1: King is Dead. The opening track to this album starts of with a great high tempo beat with a hardcore shouted vocal delivery. Then the more guttural yells of lead singer Ben Garcia kick in with some massive mosh. Mike Hood, founding member of the band, adds in his shouts and yells creating a great dynamic between the two vocalists that you’ll find throughout the album.
Track 2: Lost Hope. Lost Hope is one fast paced track. Again, Garcia’s delivery is just as badass as ever on this track. The band can definitely play their instruments well, but it’s Garcia’s delivery that makes this band standout.
Track 3: Drown Out. Reverb and a sample start this one off and roll into setup drumming and bass. The setup doesn’t last too long, though, as the vocals kick in. This is one of the “slower” tracks on the album. It’s got quite a dark and sludgy feel to it and also has one of the catchier choruses.
Track 4: 26 Seconds of Hate. Yes, it is only 26 seconds in length. Yes, you can fit plenty of hate into that little span of time. This track has a great old school punk/hardcore vibe to it that, unfortunately, you want to go well beyond 26 seconds.
Track 5: Ernie Cortez. Probably the most personal song on the album lyrically, Ernie Cortez is homage to a friend who has passed. For a topic such as death, the track has a fairly upbeat tempo that makes this more of a celebration of the deceased life than it does a remorseful look back.
Track 6: Heartless. At first, I thought these guys were going to pull out a cover of Propaganda by Sepultura with the lead in guitar. They didn’t. It’s still a decent song even with that tease in the beginning.
Track 7: Coward. This is most definitely the hardest and angriest track on the album. There is enough mosh here for a complete album. And as tradition goes, the band incorporates their mantra “I Own You” and accompanying riff into the song. It’s not a super smooth transition, but once you hear that change, you know what’s coming. Garcia also busts out a death style scream for the chorus.
Track 8: Addicted to Dying. More reverb starts this one off and then Mike Hood’s delivery kicks in. Garcia has a completely different, more guttural sound, but Hood just has that classic angry delivery. Excellent beat and group vocals on the chorus.
Track 9: This Time. A chunky bass line leads into the vocals. This track has a great punk feel to it, with a super quick paced beat for the chorus.
Track 10: End of Days. Garcia has more of a screaming style of delivery on this track that’s not quite as guttural as the previous tracks (I may be mistaken and it could be Mike Hood). This track is a great way to wrap up the album.
While Hoods haven’t reinvented themselves on this album, they have, after ten years, polished their sound and style to perfection. If you like your hardcore heavy, angry, and short (all tracks are under 3 minutes), then pick this one up. As noted, the overall playing time on this album is a bit short. I don’t expect hardcore bands to write epic 5-6 minute tracks, but it would have been nice for Hoods to throw in another track or two.
Favorite Tracks:
Lost Hope
26 Seconds of Hate
Coward
End of Days
Additional Notes:
n/a