Review: “Reawaken” by Every Hour Kills

Every Hour Kills are a powerhouse ensemble featuring the core of ex-Divinity and Enditol guitarist Sacha Laskow, bassist Brent Stutsky (ex-Breach of Trust), along with vocalist Jerrod Maxwell-Lyster (ex-Out of Your Mouth), who hail from Calgary, Canada and examine extraterrestrial threats and ponder the consequences of making dire and desperate decisions in their debut EP “Re:Awaken” with the help of a quintet of guests.

Setting the tone with “Veiled Aurora” which sees guest vocals from Shaley Bourget of Dayshell, Of Mice & Men as well as a guest guitar solo Morgan Reid of Bloodshot Dawn is an impressive start if it’s the first you’ve heard from Every Hour Kills. Blending combinations of synth patterns and DJent infused Metalcore guitar work with the kind of vocals that soar with bright clean moments and drop with dark unclean destruction, it’s like Linkin Park met Periphery and formed a side project. The lyrical themes are dark and vibrant, the music heavy and melodic in equal measure. “Anthelion” features guest vocals from Chris Thoresen of Shark Infested Daughters and a guest guitar solo from Travis Montgomery of Threat Signal fame and musically has a Fear Factory vibe in places with the soaring solo being a science fiction face melter. The programmed percussive patterns sound incredible and free from the mechanical moments that blight some releases of this nature, while both vocalists impress with intertwined moments. Each track has an anthemic nature and has a sing-a-long quality with the title track being no different. “Re:awaken” is part Industrial, part Nu-Metal and part Melodic Death Metal with some interestingly deep lyrics and narrative that runs through the music video which matches the storytelling quality of the powerful vocals. On paper Joe Satriani cover “Time” which features a guest guitar solo from Rick Graham, might seem left field for Every Hour Kills but they make it their own with some virtuoso performances that help create the kind of anthemic soundscape that Devin Townsend would be proud of. The full length that follows this is going to be immense based on the qualities on show here [8/10]

Track Listing:

1. Veiled Aurora (ft. guest vocals Shaley Bourget of Dayshell, Of Mice & Men & guest guitar solo Morgan Reid of Bloodshot Dawn) (4:18)
2. Anthelion (ft. guest vocals Chris Thoresen (Shark Infested Daughters & guest guitar solo Travis Montgomery of Threat Signal, Meytal) (4:26)
3. Re:awaken (4:12)
4. Time ft. guest guitar solo Rick Graham (Joe Satriani cover) (5:04)
5. Veiled Aurora (Instrumental) (4:18)
6. Anthelion (Instrumental) (4:26)
7. Re:awaken (Instrumental) (4:12)
8.  Time (Joe Satriani cover) (Instrumental) (5:04)

“Reawaken” by Every Hour Kills is out 9th October.