Review Summary: An unspectacular, yet solid debut with a bit of novelty value.
For those that are unaware, Hoth is a two-piece melodic death/black metal band from Seattle, Washington. In 2014, the band got quite a bit of attention with the release of their second full-length,
Oathbreaker which was considered to be one of the better black metal releases of the year. Despite this, the band’s 2012 debut full-length,
Infinite Darkness is fairly overlooked, even after the release of yet another well received album in 2018. That being said, the album may or may not be worth a look depending on multiple factors.
Overall,
Infinite Darkness is a much less serious affair than the band’s later material. The lyrics and song titles blatantly reference the
Star Wars original trilogy on every single song, with amusing titles like “Torn Asunder by a Wampa” and “Drowned by the Dianoga” standing out from the bunch. Due to the way the vocals are done, it is pretty easy to make out the lyrics to each song without having to look them up, which is almost guaranteed to be at least somewhat amusing to any
Star Wars fans listening. Because of this
Star Wars gimmick, along with the band’s name, it would seem that this was meant to be the main selling point of the album. Because of all of the referencing and the album’s short runtime, one may find themselves wondering if the album was simply meant to be some sort of joke.
Aside from the amusing lyrical theme, the music on the album is pretty one dimensional overall, unlike the band’s later material. The songs on the album, with the exception of two tracks, are all around 2-3 minutes, adding up to a runtime of a little over 30 minutes, which is around half the length of the band’s follow up album. There is a noticeably stronger emphasis on short, headbanging songs rather than on the epic soundscapes that the band would later evolve into. A lot of the songs rely on simple, catchy melodic death metal inspired riffs with the odd black metal or traditional death metal riff thrown in for good measure. In general, the album can be compared to bands like (later) Amon Amarth and Dethklok. If the listener is looking for riffs, the album is certainly not a bad time, but overall the listener is bound to be greeted with a sense of deja vu when listening to a lot of the songs on
Infinite Darkness. None of the songs are really bad, some like the aforementioned “Torn Asunder by a Wampa” and “The Frozen Wastes of Hoth” are actually pretty fun, but overall, the album feels like a bit of a knock-off of the aforementioned bands writing-wise. Due to this, the album gets tiresome after repeated listens.
Overall, the performances on
Infinite Darkness are a mixed bag. It is worth noting that there is no available information about who played what on the album, so I am simply going to talk about what I heard while listening. First off, the guitar work on
Infinite Darkness is pretty solid. The playing is tight and many of the riffs are bound to keep the listener interested. There are also a few melodic guitar leads that show up from time to time that are well executed. Aside from the guitar, the drumming on the album is pretty solid. There is a lot of double bass work and some blast beats scattered throughout that all sound tight and fit the band’s sound. Despite this, both the drums and guitars have kind of a flat sound due to the production. The drums sound almost like an electronic kit or even drum machine was used, which makes the album sound a bit lifeless. The vocals are also a bit on the stale side. I’m not sure if it is a production fault, but the vocals on the album, both the growls and shrieks, don’t have much of an impact. Like the instruments, they feel a bit flat and a bit too quiet in the mix. That being said, it is nice that the lyrics can be easily understood, at least, which helps with the
Star Wars gimmick. Overall, the presentation and performances on the album are passable, but nothing to write home about.
In the end, depending on who you are, the album could be a tough sell. As mentioned before, the
Star Wars gimmick on
Infinite Darkness is the main reason that someone would want to listen to this. While there are plenty of fun songs on the album, I think that many metal fans would simply dismiss the album as generic, with good reason. If you are already a Hoth fan who hasn’t heard this yet or are a fan of the
Star Wars franchise, I think that there is a good chance that you will enjoy listening to this, but for everyone else, I would suggest you steer clear.
