Look…it's 2023…not a soul has been asking for this album, yet this really just feels like the best time to release it.
Die Humane's debut album, The Grotesque is a labor of love from former Exodus guitarist Rick Hunolt, former Anova Skyway vocalist Garret West, and Sal Abruscato, former Type O Negative/Life Of Agony drummer. Abruscato was also one of the chief song writer’s from A Pale Horse Named Death. But more important, this album came about in “Galveston, Texas at the end of 2020 by Joshua Vargas and Greg Hilligiest as a way to deal with the loss and isolation of that year.”
So basically…this was a two-three year passion project. According to the bands bio on Spotify,
Imagine if Celtic Frost got into a car crash with A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, and Type O Negative while listening to Pink Floyd on the radio.
And that…is pretty much the sound of this band. If you listened to it today, you'd say it came from the 90s. But if you listened to it in the 90s, you'd say its a bit too modern and avant-garde.
Honestly…in my humble opinion, this will absolutely be in my top 9 albums of this year. (Yea yea yea, I didn't list of my top faves of 2022. I was moving, okay!?)
I heard of this band through the wonderful gentleman of the Metal on the Brain podcast (as I always seem to be pulling inspo and ideas from their podcast!) and I gave this album a listen to about 5x in the span of 2 days. I can confidently say I thoroughly dig this Alice in Chains/Pink Floyd/jazz album.
Although I do enjoyed more of the full, complete grunge - style songs like “Oblivion” the best, it's hard to imagine these tracks in any actual grunge album.
This record has a voice of it's own and makes drives through the great PNW a ✨ special ✨ kind of melancholy. The kind of melancholy that sticks to you like summer nostalgia. And it's amazing!
Further more, the album cover reminds me of Extreme's Waiting For the Punchline album art. Both creepy and lonely at the same time with the clown standing on his own on the cover's surface.
Go in open-minded and ready to drink a liiiiiiittle but of depresso espresso. Enjoy listening to it multiple times for years to come, because I encourage them to take their sweet time to put out another masterpiece.
Listen to Die Humane's "The Grotesque" now!
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