SHORT BUT SWEET: HUMAN BODIES — “DEMO MMXV”

Today I’ve prepared brief reviews of five short releases that I discovered since the end of last week. All five of them are very strong, and all but one are available on Bandcamp. This is the first.

HUMAN BODIES

I first came across Boston’s Human Bodies in May of 2014 and foamed at the mouth (here) about their eviscerating 2013 demo and a subsequent single named Scapegoat. And then last October I foamed at the mouth some more about their No Life demo, which included “Scapegoat” (here). And now I’m about to slobber some more.

 

 

Why? Because the band have just released a new demo (MMXV) that includes three new songs — “Resolution”, “Plague”, and “Sterile Abyss”. And these songs are just as striking as everything Human Bodies have done before.

The music is a rough, raw, howling hybrid of punk and black metal, with riffs and rhythms guaranteed to get your ass moving and vocal vitriol that’s loaded with enough bile to eat through rebar. Listening to this is like diving through the open door of a blast furnace, or maybe having your legs gnawed off by wolverines (which is kind of how the intro to “Sterile Abyss” sounds).

Except for “Sterile Abyss”, it’s catchy as hell, too, in addition to being goddamn furious. “Sterile Abyss” just sounds like the fire-bombing of Dresden.

 

There’s only one draw-back to this demo (depending on your location): For now at least, it’s only available on a limited edition of 100 cassette tapes, which will be available exclusively on the band’s upcoming summer tour. Perhaps if they sell all those tapes, they’ll consider making the demo available for download.

On the other hand, this is a serious motherfucking tour, with stops in 35 cities, so there should be plenty of chances for people to pick up the tapes. The schedule as it now stands is after the music stream below, in case you have trouble reading that tour flyer up above.

https://hmnbds.bandcamp.com/album/demo-mmxv
https://www.facebook.com/humanbodies

 

ENDLESS WAR ON EVERYTHING 2015
7/21 – Brooklyn, NY – Acheron
7/23 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
7/24 – Greenville, SC – Earshot Records
7/25 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
7/26 – Orlando, FL – Space Station
7/27 – Tallahassee, FL – Carolina House
7/28 – Birmingham, AL – Firehouse
7/29 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
7/30 – Houston, TX – Black Barbie
7/31 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
8/1 – Austin, TX – St. Roch’s
8/2 – Albuquerque, NM – Jam Spot –
8/3 – Tempe, AZ – 51 West
8/4 – Duarte, CA – TBA
8/5 – Bakersfield, CA – Babylon
8/6 – Los Angeles, CA – TBA
8/7 – Fresno, CA – TBA
8/8 – Oakland, CA – Golden Bull
8/9 – Sacramento, CA – TBA
8/10 – Eureka, CA – Vets Hall
8/11 – Portland, OR – Blackwater
8/12 – Seattle, WA – Georgetown Liquor Company
8/13 – Olympia, WA – TBA
8/14 – Portland, OR – Knott St.
8/15 – Oakland, CA – Metro Operahouse
8/16 – Salt Lake City, UT – TBA
8/17 – Denver, CO – TBA
8/18 – Kansas City, MO – TBA
8/19 – St. Louis, MO – TBA
8/20 – Peoria, IL – TBA
8/21 – Minneapolis, MI – Rat Hole
8/22 – Milwaukee, WI – Quarters
8/23 – Louisville, KY – Spinellis
8/24 – Columbus, OH – Bourbon St./The Summit
8/25 – Allentown, PA – Consolidated Cardboard