ALBUM REVIEW: HUNGER – Maggot Heart
Berlin rock outfit MAGGOT HEART are back with their fourth studio album HUNGER. The trio is the brainchild of Swedish guitarist and singer-songwriter Linnéa Olsson (THE OATH, GRAVE PLEASURES) who is joined by fellow musicians Olivia Airey and Uno Bruniusson (also of GRAVE PLEASURES, IN SOLITUDE). The band have made a name for themselves not only through their shared history of music and bands, but also their extensive touring and crossover between hard rock and punk, creating a sound that sticks in your mind and leaves you yearning for more.
Opening with Scandinavian Hunger, listeners are greeted by the sound of feedback as the band prepares before a deep bassline and dark sounding drums join that builds intensity, leaving you waiting for what’s to come next. It’s then that the vocals come in, in a style that is part spoken word, part rough quality that overall sounds so badass. Every word spoken leaves you intrigued, because of their nature, but also because of how cool and collected everything sounds.
Moving onto Nil By Mouth, the album remains in the realm of dark vibes and confident sounds with elements that leave you reminded of both earlier and modern eras of rock; on the one hand you might find yourself thinking of iconic names like DORO, whilst on the other you may be reminded of the vocal prowess of TAYLOR MOMSEN. And even then, there’s so many more genres and styles that pop into mind as you go along in the track’s journey.
The only nitpicky detail to complain about is perhaps the need to trim down some songs that lose their effect with outros that drag on slightly, as heard in This Shadow which is a solid noise rock song with fantastic bass and guitar, but might have the listener zoning out during the ending. But even then, you can’t be annoyed by that as everything just sounds so damn cool and interesting. Not only are MAGGOT HEART talented when it comes to applying the hard rock and punk elements, but we also hear their interpretation of other genres that go slightly outside the box of the alternative umbrella. This is perfectly demonstrated in Archer, which has a guitar in an almost Western style that’s also accompanied by violins that then transform the song into a slow, jazz band style. That might make little sense but hear us out and listen to the song. You’ll get it.
Other standout moments include LBD, a bouncy rock track with elements that has you reminded of BLONDIE, Looking Back At You, a combination of fast rock and angry vocals, and Parasite, an alternative rock song with gothic elements that sounds so cool and sultry.
All told, HUNGER is an intriguing album that grabs your attention throughout, you can’t go wrong with it. MAGGOT HEART go above and beyond when it comes to their sound with no track sounding the same.
Rating: 8/10
HUNGER is set for release on September 29th via Rapid Eye Records and Svart Records.
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