CosmiclavaThe follow-up to HACKMAN's debut 'The New Normal' is hard to digest.
It's a heavy chunk of brutal repetitive riffs, that force their way
relentlessly through your brain. The guitar riffs have immense
penetration power while the loud production intensifies that effect.
Again, the vocals on 'Enterprises' are sparsely used but very
efficient. There are still traces of Karma To Burn, but in the meantime
HACKMAN has carved out their own musical niche. The arrangements of the
songs are much more diverse in comparison to the first album and 'March
Into Victory' is a perfect example for that. While the first section of
this epic song is more or less embedded in a traditional rock sound,
the second part is located in the land of ambient, loops and noise. The
acoustic intermezzo of 'End Of Men' is like a rest area in HACKMAN's
maelstrom of thuggish, fuzzed-out power chords, before 'Number Eight,
No Bullet' hits you like a ton of bricks. 'Tragedian' is more melodic
with a slight reminiscence of the 1970's while the melancholy of 'C'est
La Mort' is just heart warming. Pain and pleasure are closely linked in
HACKMAN's world so that you can't have one without the other. Guitarist
Darryl Sheppard (Milligram/Roadsaw) is pushing the band forward with
his boundless energy, backed by a pounding, dynamic rhythm section. If
you feel exhausted after listening to the here included ten songs just
listen to the hidden bonus track at the end of the album. It's pure
ambient noise that maybe will help the listener to relax after that
merciless rollercoaster ride. 'Enterprises' is a disturbing behemoth
and another quality release in Small Stone Records's discography.
--KK, http://www.cosmiclava.com/
The Ripple Effect
This is a great album to start your workday. At least for me it has been.
I’m lucky enough to sit in my own office so I can listen to music all
day and not really bother anyone. However, super fast stuff will drive
the lady in the next office nuts and if I play anything too loud the
people in cube-land will start to complain that they can’t hear
themselves talk about sports. As the work day progresses and everyone’s
productivity increases, I can turn up the volume and tempo if I want.
Most mornings I’ll start with something like Horace Silver or BB King,
but I’ve also found that Sleep’s “Dopesmoker” is great to stimulate the
brain into functioning.
This new Hackman album Enterprises is sort of like that.
When the Ripple asked me if I wanted to write up some new releases
rather than the usual Mountain/Grand Funk oldies I said what the hell.
I’ll only write about what I like and now I like Hackman. I had heard
the name and knew they were from Boston but nothing else. The one sheet
and bio from Small Stone Records says that Enterprises was recorded in
Brooklyn. Hey, I live in Brooklyn! But probably not in the part of town
where this was recorded. That’s good, because I wouldn’t want anyone
making this kind of a racket in my neighborhood.
This record is loud no matter what volume you play it at. The opening
song “Panama” is thankfully not a cover of one of my least favorite Van
Halen songs but more like a variation on Black Sabbath’s “Hole In The
Sky.” On the first spin of this record, it wasn’t until the 2nd song
“Monoceros” when the vocals kicked in that I realized Hackman is mainly
an instrumental band. Their riffs and jams are super heavy but very
well written so the lack of vocals keep the songs compelling. A lot of
bands that attempt this style of music wind up sounding like an
extended Sleep soundcheck while they wait for the soundguy to turn on
the PA system and put up some vocal mics.
There are 10 songs on this record and they flow together really well.
“End of Men” is a two minute acoustic (eeek!) guitar interlude in the
middle of the record that makes the heavy stuff sound even heavier. It
gives the album some light and shade that many heavy bands avoid. It
worked really well for Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. The sound on
this thing is HUGE. The bass is filthy, the drums boom and the guitars
crush. The vocals, when present, are hoarse, shouted statements of
discontent (such as “I don’t want it/you can keep it” over and over).
The song “Bludge” has samples of what sounds like a bunch of drunk
rednecks arguing at a party at 3AM right before the cops show up.
You can just put this record on and be transported to the riff filled
land for about an hour and not be interrupted. There’s also a great
hidden bonus track after a few minutes of silence at the end of album
that’s mainly ambient guitar noise. I wish I had the time to get baked
and listen to this really loud on my home stereo but that’s probably
not going to happen anytime soon. I would strongly recommend that you
try it and lemmy know the results.
--Woody
March 26th, 2009www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/KvltSite
What is the one thing that we like about heavy music? The answer is
easy: The Riff. New England's Hackman truly shares our sentiment and
has decided to strip down everything else that comes in the way. If you
always expect riffs in your music to have vocals and lead instruments
to take its essence and steal the show, this clearly isn't for you. If
on the other hand, you're the type that's already pretty damn kicked
about this Karma to Burn reunion, you definitely must give these goons
a shot.
With guitars and rare vocals supplied by Darryl Shepard from the
awesome Milligram and Roadsaw, and a superlative rhythm section made up
of bassist Jase and drummer Owen, these guys on their second album have
achieved more than most other stripped down two/three piece bands
could. Enterprises boasts of consistency, variety and working best
within the self-set limits with no signs of monotony. The
break-your-neck southern style uptempo grooves, the doom & gloom
vibe, the chilled out, lethargic approach to songwriting, and churning
out one catchy part after the other - it's all ingrained in your head
by the time you're through with a couple of listens.
The band can do straightup songs just like anyone else in the business,
but they frankly peak with something like March into Victory, stretched
over 10 minutes this is a more atmospheric, epic and more dynamic and
doom-fueled take on things and elevates this band into achieving pure
tonal and sonic perfection. Diversity seems to be the general idea
here, and there are acoustic arpeggiated passages like the interlude
track End of Men to give the listener a breather before the next heavy
motherfucker comes in and tears a new one. This is a very solid album
from Hackman full of heavy fuzzed-out guitars, distorted rumbling bass
and big hitting drums showcasing the power of The Riff. Especially
watch out for the bonus guitar-and-bass track hidden right at the end,
once the last song War Gong gets over. This kills.
- Srikanth Panaman
March 16th, 2009www.kvltsite.comSleazegrinder
Led by guitarist Darryl Sheppard, late of Boston’s Milligram and
currently a utility guitarist in Roadsaw, Hackman pays homage to the
almighty Riff. (Hence the band’s MySpace handle being “hackmanriffs.”)
With few vocals to get in the way, Sheppard and his rhythm section just
let fly with crunchy, fudgy guitar licks – even solos are few and far
between. On the one hand, it’s refreshing to hear this kind of hard
rock boiled down to its essence – it’s the riffs we tune in to this
stuff to hear, after all, and Sheppard plays ‘em like he was born to do
it. On the other hand, several of these songs sound more like sketches,
meant to be fleshed out later on, and in that sense I don’t know if
stoner rock really needs its own Guided By Voices. But this album has
given the world Bludge, as fine an example of what makes stoner rock
endure as anything, and it’s sure to be a favorite of woodshedders
everywhere. (Yes, kids, there was interactivity before CD-ROMs).
- Michael Toland
March 27th, 2009www.sleazegrinder.com