Band:	Harm's Way
Album:	Posthuman
Style:	Hardcore, Sludge metal
Release date:	February 09, 2018
A review by:	Ilham

01. Human Carrying Capacity
02. Last Man
03. Sink
04. Temptation
05. Become A Machine
06. Call My Name
07. Unreality
08. Dissect Me
09. The Gift
10. Dead Space

New year - new me Harm's Way!

For anyone unfamiliar with Harm's Way, the covfefe of this album illustrates what their music generally feels like. The five fine gentlemen from Chicago play what I'd call the most metallic kind of hardcore you can find. Dense, heavy, to-the-point and trance-inducing. I don't want to sound like their approach to hardcore is simplistic. Far from that, there is enough subtlety to satisfy the elitist picky part of you. I am merely trying express the fact that there are no cheap tricks used to reel you into the mosh pit. Only pure passion. This band has managed the feat of creating a signature sound for themselves, within very a prolific and talented local scene, itself within a sub-genre often wrongly criticized for not being innovative enough.

So, now that I have painted a beautiful portrait of Harm's Way in general, how does Posthuman fare? It's hard to just throw myself into a description when this is the band's fourth full-length (how time flies!). I'm gonna cut the meandering short and just squash all possible doubts: if this is your first go at a Harm's Way album, have no fear; it will make more than an enjoyable introduction. Now addressing you long-time converts of the faith, I say to thee: hear me preach before thou judge.

This new album sees the "metallic hardcore" tag being printed with "metallic" highlighted, underlined, and in Impact font. As usual, the angry people writing this music are taking some cues from sludge and a few hints from deathgrind. One should note that Posthuman shows more density, more body than its predecessor, Rust. The rowdy cohort seems to have used a significantly different recipe, one that innovates while taking from the excellent Isolation. I'm indeed very pleased to hear heavier pieces and more variety in vocals as well as in songwriting, even if I feel the rhythm and succession of tracks slightly suffer from that in the first half.

Showing an appropriate length of 33 minutes, the album starts with a real banger, then takes you on a darker, deeper journey through pure anguish, with a stop at an unusually industrial-sounding track, to eventually leave you battered and bruised by another couple of serious bangers. The same insanely efficient riffs and heavy-artillery drumming are present throughout. Precisely those that put this formation's sound on my radar, especially in hard-hitting pieces like "Dissect Me". Older aficionados will be happy to find tracks that lie in line with the tradition of the band, such as "Call My Name" and "Become A Machine", although, I would say this opus lacks a longer track. You know, one of those that suck you in very slowly and end up spitting you out long after you have exhausted the will to live outside of that sweet, sweet hypnotizing loop. I'm thinking about something akin to "Frontal Lobe" on Blinded - which is a listen that comes greatly recommended.

The rougher texture and additional layers of production of this opus go with the less streamroller-like approach that Posthuman adopts. The quintet has often added touches of atmosphere here and there with haunting intros and outros in their older releases, but this time we're even gifted with an almost Harm's Way-does-Triptykon song by the name of "Temptation". The gloomier bits, with the overall thicker and more dissonant sound make the replay value both higher and lower than that of their previous work: there is more complex material to dissect over repeated spins, though it makes it a little less of a perfect soundtrack for lifting iron. Which is still, like, totally cool, you know. If you need something to push you through the last two reps, Isolation is still there to spot you, bro.

So all in all, Posthuman is complex without giving the first impression of being so. Maximum effect, using seemingly minimum effort. It's a flu virus with a small mutation that we haven't been vaccinated against yet, and turns out deadly. Posthuman prolongs this unforgettable imprint the band will leave in modern hardcore. It corrects the errs of the slightly disappointing yet catchy Rust, without appearing - for now - like a contender for the title of magnum opus either. I may regret this last piece of opinion, as only time will tell how I will measure the quality of a new offering from my current favourite band. Harm's Way is a formation that has matured and evolved. I've been very happy to see it flourish and lucky to see it perform live.

I am leaving you with a glowing yet balanced review, and a tentative conclusion, but I exhort you to make your own. You know what to do. Listen to it. And happy new Harm's Way!