Labels: self released
Review by: Alex Hannan
HERO DISHONEST’s “Climbing up on the way down” 7″ seemed to be in every distro ten years ago, near the height of the fast hardcore obsession of the noughties, and it’s probably been that long since I listened to them. This was a good reintroduction and a pleasant surprise – fifteen years into their career they’re still kicking out a ton of energy. The songs are a little longer now, and they’re more likely to take you round the houses with some mid-paced burliness before administering a blast of speed, but when it comes you still better watch out…
“Eläma lyhyt, pasilan silta pitkä” builds tension for a minute with simmering, measured pace and a raging vocal performance before a scribbling bassline unleashes fast hardcore dotted with gang vocal outbursts of “Turha väittää” (“Useless to argue.”) “Nälkälakko” has a furious energy and a hyperactive, choppy switching of parts, from full band attack to vocal rants over bass and drums, sudden tempo changes and whip-smart little guitar squiggles. Knotty clumps of Finnish burst hoarsely from the vocalist’s throat – it’s a great sounding language for this style. Their 2010 “Dangerous” LP was all in English, but now they’ve completely switched, and even cover songs are translated into Finnish. THE PROLETARIAT’s “Religion is the opiate of the masses” is rendered as “Jumalan selätys” and takes the original’s central breakdown deep into space-out territory.
On the flipside HERO DISHONEST take a more mid-paced approach. “Tammikuun seitsemäs” is a balance between burly chugging and bouncy, melodic riffs, before plunging into white-knuckle fast parts. They round off the 7″ with the title track (“It all falls apart”) whose simple but catchy structure inspires visions of sweaty circle pits. The whole thing somehow conveys an atmosphere of good humour alongside the aggression, that the band are having a banging time and enjoying making people dance. I hope to be doing just that next time they come to town.