Hokum – No Escape EP
Self-Released – March 17th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
After chucking their demo
First Blood at the metal audience in 2005, this death/thrash hybrid have returned with
No Escape, a 30-minute EP displaying a handful of noteworthy attributes. Still an unsigned band of Germans,
Hokum’s latest may possibly be the boost they need to garner label interest. I do like what they have to present, but they’ve got both time and room to forward their craft. With some practice and fine-tuning, they could surpass what they’ve done here, and I hope they do.
I’m a bit dismayed that this isn’t menacing or threatening, though, because in all honesty, you’ll incur no damage in spite of how close you step to the distorted riffs, grooves, and hooks swinging on
No Escape. Nevertheless, the musicianship is good. While I’m not excited about how the forgettable “Manticore” pans out – sans the guitar leads and crawling passage at the 1:40 minute mark – the follower “Silent Assassin” is a more rewarding experience. After the first minute, the latter sounds like a thrashier version of
Kohllapse: the vocals especially. I hear a pinch of
Opeth in the tone, tempo, and guitar of “Face the End,” while the tenseness radiating from “The God Within” is a great touch. Mostly I think
Hokum are a guitarist’s band because no other instrument on
No Escape is as enrapturing as the guitar. “I. The Loving Father” – part of “Goats Part II,” an extension from
First Blood – sees the foursome change their tune temporarily by ditching the heaviness for melodic cleanness, both instrumentally and vocally. Naturally they return to their roots later on, and “II. The Beloved Ones” features some of their weightiest material.
Caressed by
RPWL frontman Yogi Lang,
No Escape is a decent EP that perhaps suffers from lack of edge. Even a small amount of rawness would’ve benefited the production and overall atmosphere. However, I think
Hokum are a group to watch out for, though I highly doubt that record labels are going to be congregating at their respective doorsteps. This is predominantly a teaser, which fails to deliver as much panache as I thought it was going to. The potential, however, is undeniable.
6/10
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