The beautiful island of Trinidad; the southernmost island of the Caribbean just a few miles off the coast of Venezuela…a colourful and vibrant place with a rich, diverse culture of exotic carnivals, and also the inspiration behind classic stories such as “Treasure Island”, to many it really is a tropical paradise, however, the steel-drums aren’t the only source of ‘metal’ you’ll hear whilst you sip your cocktails in Las Cuevas Bay, for even the Trinidadian’s know how to rock out; let me introduce you to HAIL THE HATTER. Having formed in 2015, the metal outfit started off when vocalist Jonathan Boos and guitarist Dax Carter decided that the world of rock music was lacking a sense of fun, and thus HTH (Now completed by drummer Nickolai Assam and bassist Aaron Lowchewtung) was born. Having recently released their debut mini-album “Discovering Light”, let’s see just how mad these hatters really are…
We open up with a little intro entitled “The Coming Of The Hatter” and frankly I hope he brought tissues…I kid…incredibly foreboding; it’s a spoken word piece foretelling the hatters arrival as an omen among the thunder and rain, bringing with him the imminent doom for the people of the island, before we get chants of “Hail The Hatter!”, likening him to the devil himself. It sets up an interesting concept and we’re a far cry from Wonderland here let me tell you. First track proper then is “Bone Grin” and aside from the incredibly random Arnold Schwarzenegger opening, we have a brief build towards some slick, blues-inspired hard rock. Initially up-tempo it channels influences such as GUNS ‘N’ ROSES which you can pick up in the tone of Boos’ vocals and definitely the solo towards the end; it’s a decent start…aside from more Schwarzenegger rounding it off…you’re NOT AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE…stop it.
Next up we have “God Bless The Beast” and we’re pretty quickly head-banging to some classic riffs and solid percussion; it’s quite nostalgic in sound for the most part, acting like a throwback to vintage NWOBHM acts such as SAXON and JUDAS PRIEST given it’s tone and even lyrically, you can hear them praise the likes of BLACK SABBATH, they’re definitely tipping their hat to their influences here. “White Walls” initially slows things down dramatically, reduced down to no more than a sluggish drawl with tired riffs mixed with brief guitar licks and gang vocals; so incredibly lethargic, that is until a brief up-tempo fill click-baits you into thinking the song is waking up, but alas it’s short lived. “Akasha”, given its name has a sense and feeling of both vacuity and freedom, with Carter’s guitars flowing through your conscious like they would through space and time itself, before we end proceedings then on the title track, and the longest track on offer here. After a long winding string-section leading into the track, we’re met with more vintage metal at nearly three minutes in, backed with some emotive, soaring vocals from Boos. It’s a dramatic number, especially with the delicate tones of the piano wrapping things up, ending the record on a high.
It’s an interesting listen all in all really and musically they’ve delivered, there’s ample to be enjoyed here for fans of hard rock, classic metal and maybe even a little prog too if you will. The band wanted to incorporate a little ‘fun and menace’ into their sound and style but sadly they’ve not really delivered on the fun bit to be honest; given their name and such a statement, I was expecting something more off-kilter and essentially bonkers but sadly didn’t so much as smirk once, and coming from the West Indies, well…it’s just not cricket. [6]
We open up with a little intro entitled “The Coming Of The Hatter” and frankly I hope he brought tissues…I kid…incredibly foreboding; it’s a spoken word piece foretelling the hatters arrival as an omen among the thunder and rain, bringing with him the imminent doom for the people of the island, before we get chants of “Hail The Hatter!”, likening him to the devil himself. It sets up an interesting concept and we’re a far cry from Wonderland here let me tell you. First track proper then is “Bone Grin” and aside from the incredibly random Arnold Schwarzenegger opening, we have a brief build towards some slick, blues-inspired hard rock. Initially up-tempo it channels influences such as GUNS ‘N’ ROSES which you can pick up in the tone of Boos’ vocals and definitely the solo towards the end; it’s a decent start…aside from more Schwarzenegger rounding it off…you’re NOT AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE…stop it.
Next up we have “God Bless The Beast” and we’re pretty quickly head-banging to some classic riffs and solid percussion; it’s quite nostalgic in sound for the most part, acting like a throwback to vintage NWOBHM acts such as SAXON and JUDAS PRIEST given it’s tone and even lyrically, you can hear them praise the likes of BLACK SABBATH, they’re definitely tipping their hat to their influences here. “White Walls” initially slows things down dramatically, reduced down to no more than a sluggish drawl with tired riffs mixed with brief guitar licks and gang vocals; so incredibly lethargic, that is until a brief up-tempo fill click-baits you into thinking the song is waking up, but alas it’s short lived. “Akasha”, given its name has a sense and feeling of both vacuity and freedom, with Carter’s guitars flowing through your conscious like they would through space and time itself, before we end proceedings then on the title track, and the longest track on offer here. After a long winding string-section leading into the track, we’re met with more vintage metal at nearly three minutes in, backed with some emotive, soaring vocals from Boos. It’s a dramatic number, especially with the delicate tones of the piano wrapping things up, ending the record on a high.
It’s an interesting listen all in all really and musically they’ve delivered, there’s ample to be enjoyed here for fans of hard rock, classic metal and maybe even a little prog too if you will. The band wanted to incorporate a little ‘fun and menace’ into their sound and style but sadly they’ve not really delivered on the fun bit to be honest; given their name and such a statement, I was expecting something more off-kilter and essentially bonkers but sadly didn’t so much as smirk once, and coming from the West Indies, well…it’s just not cricket. [6]
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