I’m late to the Hardbanger party. This French band started releasing singles and accompanying videos back in the spring of 2012, beginning with “Neck”. Before the year ended, they released “She Says” and “Civilization” (a cover of a song by a French band named Justice). And then this past April they collected those three songs plus one more new one (“Shapes of Envy”) and released it as a debut EP in an unusual format, with the title of Foursome. I finally paid attention only yesterday. But believe me, in the case of Foursome, late is much better than never.

There are many things to like about what Hardbanger have done, beginning with the music of course. It doesn’t fit neatly into any recognizable sub-genre, which is part of its attraction. The sinister, mid-paced songs are built on a foundation of huge, beefy, stomping riffs, crushing bass tones, and relatively simple but utterly brain-thumping, low-end, rock-style drumbeats. The songs come at you like a blunt meat cleaver, and they’re about as instantly headbang-inducing as you could imagine.

The vocals are uber-deep, growled, and somewhat distorted. It’s like listening to Peter Steele doing harsh vocals, and I don’t mean something like the sound of his Carnivore vox. I mean that rich bass voice for which he’s best known in the music of Type O Negative, but rumbling like a cement mixer loaded with gravel. Yet the vocals are almost completely intelligible, with lyrics (particularly in the chorus) that make you want to sing along. Continue reading »