Review: The Hyena Kill ‘Collapse’
Manchester’s The Hyena Kill are a band I have long admired but haven’t until now had the chance to write about. Nestled within the blistering APF Records roster, the dynamic three-piece have more in common with Deftones than say, Voidlurker, but their ability to hit like the Chicxulub asteroid either on an emotional or a riff-based level is undeniable.
Their previous album, 2021’s A Disconnect was long on rotation in my house. Forged from personal trauma at the lowest point in singer/guitarist Steven Dobb’s life, the band created truly visceral alternative rock in a manner that hadn’t felt important or vital (to me) since the early ‘00s.
With the band having expanded to four members from nearly calling it a day as a two-piece, they fleshed out a sound that bristled with the suffocating intensity and beauty. Tracks like Cauterised raged in a manner more akin to hardcore punk on Bleached that carried an air of palpable excitement.
Despite the triumph of that record, the follow-up, Collapse, would be wrought with pain, a crucible that would see singer Steven Dobb endure terrible lows. It forced him to rebuild mentally from unhealthy habits formed as a reaction to sorrow to a place of hope and reflection. This backdrop would see the frontman, alongside remaining bandmates Lorna Blundell (drums/vocals) and Charlie Seisay-Heald (guitar/bass/synth), pour every fibre of their beings into the music. They created an album that is grounded in authenticity, leaving everything of themselves in this record.
That sentiment shows from the very outset; Running for nearly an hour, Collapse is the most far reaching, involved and vital release the band have written. Leaving nothing to spare, The Hyena Kill tears into opener Sly with a fury born from a feeling that this could be their last record.
Technical, angular and feeling heavier than anything that has gone before, they writhe and contort with scream/hardcore angst, Blundellslamming the kit as the guitars and bass lurch and boil with frustration. When the inertia pops, they fall into dreamy shoegaze layers they conjure in a moment of blissful relief.
From the back-and-forth car crash of the opening track with ragged vocals and hazy sequences, the band go full tilt into the punk like attack of Benefits Me. This shows the ragged, unhinged multi-dimensional personality of the band as they weld harmonies to deep chugging riffs. Similarly, the not-quite-title-track builds over grinding bass and swirling electronica that emulates that lush, rich sound that Deftness created on the likes of Cherry Waves, muscular, and yet soothing all within mere notes.
The thunder and snarl flow in time with the mellow, the introspective and the vulnerable…
Porcelain (featuring Jen Hingley on guitar and vocals) kick starts a mellower run that defines the album with its atmospheric urgency, a theme they will echo time and time again without retreading the same formula. The strummed, stripped-down Sedatives (featuring Andy Preece on piano), the stuttering styles of Terror or the bright, upbeat Paint all highlight a band that refuses to be defined by conformity to one style. The smouldering ballad of Rust (with additional vocals by Aisling Whiting) strays from ambient to an almost low-key electronic motif that will appear later to tie the album together thematically.
The Hyena Kill have a style, but it is not their use of scything guitars or furious drumming that makes a record like Collapse (or indeed the previous A Disconnect) stand out and work so well. The band channel each music movement as a vehicle to drive an emotional narrative. The thunder and snarl flow in time with the mellow, the introspective and the vulnerable.
There are passages on the album that seemingly pass unnoticed, like the short humming drone of instrumental Crisis Actor (created by Jake Healey). Nestled in a run of mellow tracks, it would hint at a calmer, more peaceful state for the protagonist, but actually serves to heighten the fragility of tale. The Hyena Kill find themselves emulating the songwriting devices of the likes of Trent Reznor on The Downward Spiral. Despite exhibiting the ability to create a rousing chorus, a chunky riff or a bouncing refrain, they know it is sometimes far better for the overarching story not pull the trigger on the obvious. Instead, they leave the audience clawing and grasping for that catharsis they crave.
When confronted with a title like Monday Night Football, you could expect the band to tear into an in-your-face anthem instead of pulling back for a brooding, expansive ballad with the nagging hook of ‘you will never get out alive’. Moments like this cause the listener to sit in discomfort, rendering them at their most vulnerable. The absence of a simplistic sonic payoff prolongs the impact of the personal devastation being played out, truly echoing that collapse.
Ending on the warmth of The Flood, the longest running track on the album, is awash with delicate melodies and synth harmonies. Soft and infused with a final sense of understanding and hope, the band take pains to ensure that there is finally a payoff to the harrowing journey they have been through. When the softness grows into a grander, heavier piece, it evokes a sense of climbing out of darkness. The feeling of the sun on your face and exhalation of finally finding peace as the track ends on a long passage of synth drone, feeling like a grateful sigh.
Criminally underrated and underheard right now, The Hyena Kill are a band who have ‘it’ for me and showcase the power of great music. Collapse is a powerful reminder of how, when music dials into your soul and emotions, it can leave scars, bring you to the brink of despair and build you up at the same time.
Label: APF Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
