Deathstar’s debut album, The Triumph, was originally released in 2004 by Life Sentence Records. Due to the album’s popularity, it has been out of print for a few years and the band’s current label, Facedown Records, decided to help the fans out by re-releasing it – topped off with a re-mixed and re-mastered sound. The album also features new artwork by label staple Dave Quiggle and features the opposite perspective of the artwork used for Deathstar’s second album: We Are The Threat. (Instead of seeing the back of a gang of shady bravados as on …Threat, we see their dark faceless facades for Triumph). Deathstar’s instant success and loyal fan following can be attributed to the pure harsh hardcore the seven-piece band so accurately produced on their debut. The hardcore genre is plagued with splintering influencing factions of metal, dirty rock, and screamo that threaten to dilute the scene. Deathstar viciously crushed any skepticism that intense heavy-hitting songs pumped by messages of straight-edge unity and Christian values are dead. It is probably not a coincidence that the seventh track, “Suffocate Faster,” shares the same name as another hardcore purist band with whom Deathstar later went on to split an EP with. An old-school hardcore void and hunger may have once existed, but the resurgence and satisfaction started here.
Features
HM Magazine Turns 35
In 1985, Doug Van Pelt photocopied a letter-sized sheets of paper, bound them together, and handed them out in person on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It's all digital now, but, along the way, Van Pelt stirred up quite a few waves, played some seriously heavy music, and made a few friends along the way. Here: A quick look back at the magazine's 35-year history with Van Pelt and new owner, David Stagg.
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Evolution Beyond Dissonance
Two years since the release of Hands Like Houses' latest album, 'Anon,' the band should be on the road supporting the release. Instead, the band has leveraged their local presence, government help, and new platforms like Patreon to stay afloat in the COVID-age.
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Forward Under a Dying Sun
Most of these days, the sun rises and sets on a world that feels like it's dying. Across the pond, where Employed to Serve calls home, they're learning how to support their latest record a year into its release. HM contributor Andrew Voigt recently sat down with Justine Jones to learn more about the band, marrying your bandmates, and their outside shot at touring with Rammstein.
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Between the White Noise
My Epic's last full-length album came out in 2013; despite a number of EPs along the way, the band's dedication to their craft, lyrical approach, and unyielding approach to let the music come naturally has made them critical darlings. Now, they're learning to interact and feed a rabid fanbase in between albums and in a new normal.
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