Review: Hands Upon Salvation - Entity CD

We at xStuck In The Pastx know that hardcore is a worldwide phenomenon, and that there are tons of great bands all over the globe. But you come don't across bands from Indonesia all that often. The first time I encountered Hands Upon Salvation was on a 4-way split CD called 'The Burden Reflects' they did with Canopus and Gates Of Hopeless from Japan and another Indonesian band called Nothing, which I got sometime in the late 00's. It's a solid split/compilation, and Hands Upon Salvation was mildly impressive with their blend of 90s metalcore mixed with death metal influences as well as taking cues from early 00s bands such as Endthisday.

Recently, HUS's singer Agus contacted me about their latest album 'Entity', and sent me a copy of it, as well as their previous MCD, 'Celebrate The Newborn'. The progression the band has made throughout the recordings is pretty clear. Their sound has become tighter and thicker, musically they've become a bit more technical and they have some pretty sick riffs in their songs. Agus has grown quite a bit as a singer, with a wider range from screams to grunts to spoken words. Bands like Liar, Endthisday and Day Of Suffering all come to mind at various points, with a heavy dose of death metal. Their 90s influences are quite clear while listening to the album, for instance 'A Thousand Crying Eyes' reminds me of Belgium's Arkangel quite a bit. They also have softer parts with spoken words which remind me of the 90s, as well as the occasional hardcore back-up vocals. They're using solo's even less than on their older material, which is a good decision to me, I personally don't care much for solo's. Instead they have added more variety to their songs and song-structures, making them better as a whole. They've also re-recorded some older songs, which sound much better now, including the aforementioned 'A Thousand Crying Eyes' which was originally recorded in 2003, and it sounds like some changes to the arrangements were done as well. There is the occasional use of those very metal 'galloping' rhythms, and they don't do much for me, but oh well, you can't have it all.

Because Hands Upon Salvation are from Indonesia, a country not exactly known for its hardcore/metalcore scene, and aren't able to tour much outside of it, most people will likely pass up on them, but do give them a chance. They're an above-average band with plenty to offer for anybody into any of the aforementioned bands.



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