H.O.S. – The Beginning

Beware of the hand of the Harvester Of Sorrow; it will rip you to shreds if you think to stand in its path. Without trying hard to throw the first stone at this incoming album, this is a new beginning for the young Italian Thrashers H.O.S., or as you might have figured – Harvester Of Sorrow. If you thought for a minute that these guys endorsed the old Metallica style, then you might want to think again.

The Beginning, released under the band’s new and local label, Punishment 18 Records, is yet another signal that Old School Thrash Metal is thriving in the Italian borders. In the case of H.O.S., you will notice the influences from the European side of the sub-genre… especially its extreme elements. Thus the band has a lot in common with the old eras of Kreator, Sodom, the local Bulldozer and also a few American groups in the vein of Dark Angel. It can be concluded that evilness and robust rawness is the tip of the blade for this thrashing harvester.

In comparison to other new acts that made Old School their musical bible, it seems that H.O.S., with their roughness, tried to escape the long reaching hand of banality. Most of the band’s riffages / passages have various complexities in order to surpass the average ’80s Thrash simplicity. In their favor, those few alterations didn’t hurt H.O.S.’s music, but rather helped the overall tunes to sound a bit different than other typical examples from past and present. You will find that evidence in a few nice tunes such as “The Last Will” and “Ready To Fight”. Also, the opening instrumental intro of the album did well to start up the fire as an inspiring twist.

However, the band’s wish to be more creative while still trying to keep it close to the basics of the subgenre sadly didn’t go in a smooth direction with their efforts to compose or perform higher than average. Throughout The Beginning there is a somewhat repetitive sense that comes back to haunt every now and then. Moreover, the majority of the lead guitar outputs don’t contribute to the notion that the lead axeman fulfilled his role to the highest level, and those sections are played out at a moderate level… and at times below even that. Furthermore, looking on several of the tracks, there is a feeling of emptiness as if there is nothing in them. Tracks such as “Annihilation Of Society”, “No More Traitors”, and even the band’s anthem “We Are H.O.S.” weren’t raised to the level they deserve.

In a general view, H.O.S. delivered a rather solid Thrash addition to a large family of bands. However, The Beginning is only the beginning, and fans will just have to wait and see how they develop into the future.

Tracklist

1. Intro
2. Fallout
3. Annihilation Of Society
4. Road Madness
5. The Haunt
6. No More Traitors
7. The Last Will
8. Ready To Fight
9. Earthquake
10. We Are H.O.S.!

Lineup

Dado – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Cetz – Lead Guitar
Millo – Bass
Pedro – Drums