From U-Hauls to vocal warmups in quiet corners, HOSTILE ARRAY keeps it DIY and chaotic before every show 🎤🚚🔥
In this Preshow Rituals feature, vocalist Brendan Frey walks through how the metalcore/post-hardcore band preps for the stage.
Read it here: https://www.digitaltourbus.com/features/hostile-array-preshow-rituals/
Review: Hostile Array’s post-hardcore anthem ‘Wounds’ channels a heavy sound and message, a fitting intro for their new EP ‘Trauma’
Looking to connect with listeners as they bear nothing but open-hearted lyricism is the Mayland post-hardcore outfit Hostile Array, a storming five-piece unafraid to open up with their own individual mental health struggles. As the core of their new 5-track EP ‘Trauma’, Hostile Array delve into some of their most personal struggles while fusing together an array of differing genres for an experience quite unlike anything you’ve heard before. Their anthemic leaning release ‘Wounds’ truly does it all though, introducing you to Hostile Array with a sound that’s bombastic and loud but still bearing a message utterly sincere.
Led in by smashing, vigorous drums and a thunderous electric guitar riff, ‘Wounds’ doesn’t falter for even a second in setting the scene to be one of high-energy and ferocious angst that seeps through in every harsh instrumental tone. Cut off by the verses’ introduction though, things settle for a more timid undisturbed surface of noise captured in steady drum beats, deep bass and bright electric guitar peeking in the undertones. This softer style feels a little intimate whilst the pounding drums and slowly rising guitar still allow for the song to carry a sense of building frustrations, and their vocalist’s sulky tone just adds another layer of the calm before the storm. As the chorus finally delivers the impact you’ve been waiting for, ‘Wounds’ hits at full-force with every instrument at the height of both volume and driving strength as their vocalist’s more hoarse performance adds an edge of gritty resentment to the concoction. Offering not just a striking sound but a whole journey fused within its sound, ‘Wounds’ interlinks its’ emotions heavily in how its sound evolves, taking hold of its narrative and making it feel truly living and breathing in the three minute development of the track.
‘Wounds’ isn’t just forceful in its sound though, offering a narrative that’ll linger with you just as much as their addictive, hard-hitting sound. As Hostile Array piece together a narrative infused by the experience of a toxic friend or partner, along with recurrent flashbacks to the past that seem to restrict them in their recovery, ‘Wounds’ seems to centre around a difficulty in moving forward: ‘I tried to bury the past but it’s eating me alive.’ The most striking line of the release surely falls in the chorus hook, asking ‘if time heals wounds, then why are mine still bleeding?’ and finding no answers, with Hostile Array clearly burdened by what they’ve been through and still carrying its weight despite the passing of time. This is subtle but profoundly impactful, acknowledging that we’re often expected to recover through our hardships alone, when in reality many need the support of therapy and external guidance to heal from their traumatic experiences. Surrounded by those who have a negative impact on their progression, lines like ‘I’m tired of sifting through your lies, they’re slowly killing me, distorting everything I know and everything I say’ also share the devastating pull a toxic relationship can have within your life. Limiting your own growth and belittling, gaslighting and dragging you down, it can be hard to walk away from someone who has taken advantage, but Hostile Array are here to promote pulling yourself out of the darkness when no one else is there to do it like you deserve. Absolutely scattered with varying meanings and interpretations, ‘Wounds’ is a song sure to comfort many in their own personal struggles, allowing for such deep connections to be made and a sense of healing to be found within its more open-ended lyricism.
Check out ‘Wounds’ for yourself here to unpack the track’s fiery sound and message, as well as the entirety of ‘Trauma’ here for the entire experience Hostile Array have laid out for you!
Written by: Tatiana Whybrow
Photo Credits: Unknown
// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.
Interview: Brendan Frey of HOSTILE ARRAY Antihero Magazine's James Geiser spoke to Brendan Frey of Hostile Array. Socials: www.facebook.com/hostilearray www.twitter.com/hostilearray
Interview: Brendan Frey of HOSTILE ARRAY Antihero Magazine's James Geiser spoke to Brendan Frey of Hostile Array. Socials: www.facebook.com/hostilearray www.twitter.com/hostilearray
