Since day one on this planet, Harm’s Way have been writing some of the angriest music this side of Hatebreed. Starting out as a powerviolence side project, before evolving over time into the feral beast we all know and commit grievous levels of pit violence too. With Metal Blade Records debut Posthuman, Harm’s Way have taken their blend of metal and hardcore they previously crushed skulls with on their earlier album Isolation, and then sharpened it to a razor edge and sliced your face off with it, as well as taking nods to industrial sound they showcased with previous release Rust. As soon as the new records opening seconds begin to tick by, you’re thrown headfirst into riffs so inhumanly savage you’ll put your head through your coffee table before the breakdown even kicks in. No punches are being pulled throughout. This is quite possibly one of the angriest records of recent times. The only glimmers of respite come in the form of pauses between songs and the chilling atmospherics of the industrial sections, such as the ones displayed on ‘Temptation’. Sections like this cause as much fear and nausea as the pit inducing breakdowns of ‘Last Man’ and ‘Dissect Me’, the latter featuring a riff on ‘Smash your Enemies’ levels of savagery (you know what riff…) You can practically hear noses being broken on it’s delivery. This is clearly Harm’s Way’s strongest material to date. Posthuman shows a clear progression from what they’ve created previously, whilst staying true to themselves and doing themselves the justice they rightly deserve. A lot of hardcore and metal bands will be left playing catch up for a long time after this release.
Score: 9/10
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