Band:	Hardcore Anal Hydrogen
Album:	The Talas Of Satan
Style:	Extreme avantgarde metal
Release date:	April 01, 2014
Guest review by:	Alex F

01. Dhamar
02. Ramahd
03. Release The Crackhead
04. Pentamère
05. Kalakaka
06. Rupack
07. COI
08. KRR
09. 한오백년
10. Coq Au Vin
11. Chautal

There is quite literally nothing normal about Hardcore Anal Hydrogen. From the band name and themes of the music down to the intricacies of each song, these guys are simply strange. The Talas Of Satan is only 22 minutes long, yet somehow these maniacs manage to jam it full of influences ranging from traditional Hindu music, to moments reminiscent of artists such as WHOURKR.

With a little bit of research one could quickly learn quite a bit about what the album will sound like without even listening to it. The album title itself reveals that each song should in theory revolve around a central "Tala", or traditional rhythmic pattern from Indian classical music. Using the various Talas as a base for each song, Hardcore Anal Hydrogen are limited in how much freedom they have in terms of experimentation. This alone makes their successes on the album of completely deranged instrumentation all the more impressive.

The Talas Of Satan is indeed a very heavy album, but it seamlessly flows in and out of more traditional styles (such as the Indian classical music) and the hard-hitting grind/punk/breakcore/avantgarde drenched sections. The riffs and drums themselves are nothing to be excited about, but rather how they are incorporated in the other elements of the music. The norm for the album seems to be fast-paced and drumming induced schizophrenic rampage layered under heavily effected vocals. However, the guitars will often tend towards more groove influenced riffing than one would expect for the style.

The vocals themselves are probably the most striking aspect of this deranged journey. Without sticking to any particular style, but rather relying heavily on the use of effects and often lackadaisical screaming and yelping, the vocals completely detract from any deeper meaning the album may have had. This, in conjunction with the lack of direction within the album, cement the fact that The Talas Of Satan is not meant to be anything more than a short, fun listen.

This album is without a doubt an insane one. Despite my heavy addiction to incredibly strange music, The Talas Of Satan comes off too strongly as lacking direction for me to consider it the masterpiece it honestly could have been. Rather, I will accept that this is nothing more than a short crazy ride that is most certainly not meant to be taken seriously. It is entirely worth a listen, and who knows, maybe Hardcore Anal Hydrogen will offer you a deeper, more existentially enlightening experience than I received. All in all, I enjoyed it for what it was, and hope that in the future the band refines their massively varying influences.