The Best Band in New York is HUSH.
Back in August we asked you to help us find the best unsigned bands in America. After listening to hundreds of submissions and calling each other lots of names, we finally narrowed down our pick for the largest exporter of Seinfeld in the world. The best band in New York is HUSH.
Let’s kick this off with some interesting facts you didn’t know about New York. I bet you didn’t know that:
1). I’ve never been to New York.
2).
So now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about a bunch of cliche New York shit that everyone knows. There’s pizza, Derek Jeter, Wall Street bankers, buskers, Spider-Man, sharp cheddar cheese, lots of Cubans, Donald Trump, The New York Stinkerbockers, the UN and….hey, wait. This wasn’t in Home Alone 2, I’m pretty sure. If you look under here I think you’ll find…yes.
Right under your feet, rattling the sewers with all 8 strings and causing manhole covers to vibrate loose and subway trains to derail. Rat kings and baby alligators scurry and clamor towards the light as loud, lumbering riffs ooze from sewage-caked fingers and crack the decades old mortar in the subterranean walls. Charles Cure’s tortured roars ride atop the rank waves of effluence and command the slow-motion chaos with sheer force of will. This is HUSH.
On first listen, the easiest and perhaps most obvious comparison to make is Neurosis. But the style of play is really where the similarities end. This is much more raw and visceral. With Neurosis you’re never really concerned about getting grit stuck in your teeth, and whereas Scott Kelly seems at times drained by our impending annihilation, Charles Cure is just fucking angry about it. If Neurosis is art, HUSH. is destruction.
What we have here is heft. Weight. Mass. This music is an anvil made of dark matter. HUSH. is doom that commands its space authoritatively, never wasting a precious second on anything that doesn’t push the music forward. The grimy, thick distortion of the guitars is made nearly impenetrable by the 8 string bass, while the rhythmic hammering of the drums and rage-fueled vocals pull it all together to form a slowly rolling, flaming boulder crushing anything and anyone in its path.
You do not listen to HUSH. You behold them.
Behold
But you don’t have to take my incoherent ramblings for it. Our rageaholic leader has some words of praise as well:
Joe Thrashnkill: Sometimes I get the urge to get really, really angry for no reason. It’s the reason I read The Blaze or try to drive home at 5 PM sharp. Thankfully, I have a new trigger to set off my rage vessel: HUSH. You can find me at the gym jamming UNEXIST while wildly swinging weights around with a vein the size of a garden hose chucking out of my skull.
Be sure to check out both of HUSH.’s excellent releases on their Bandcamp page for the low low price of whatever you feel like giving them (but please give them something).
Honorable Mentions:
Fate Breaks Dawn – Thrashy power metal – sort of like Overkill if Overkill were nerds. Probably about dragon fucking. Find them on Bandcamp.
Shadow Strike – Catchy symphonic power metal from Long Island. Probably also about dragon fucking. Also on Bandcamp.
Bleak – Sicker than fuck hardcore. Seriously, just listen to those drums on this Bandcamp split.
Moon Tooth – HessianHunter really, really likes this prog outfit. Check ’em out on the Bandcamp.
The Toilet ov Hell is on an absurd quest to find the best unsigned band in each state of this glorious union. The purpose? To shine the spotlight on bands that deserve more exposure. Also, we’re going to determine once and for all the greatest state in the nation. Each state winner is decided by a collection of 25 judges. After we’ve announced the winner of each state, we’re gonna throw them all in a winner-take-all bracket and leave the votes up to you. Who will be the best unsigned band in the United States? Which state is superior? We can’t wait to find out.
Previous winners:
Alabama — Phylum
Alaska — Terraform
Arizona – Take Over And Destroy
Arkansas – Torii
California – Destroy Judas
Colorado – The Sleer
Connecticut – Autumn’s Eyes
Delaware – Sloss
Florida – Capracide
Georgia – Lost Hours
Hawaii – Darkest Path
Idaho – Rotten Hand
Illinois – Deus Ex
Indiana – Thorr-Axe
Iowa – Blizzard at Sea
Kansas – Bummer
Kentucky – Ad Infinitum
Louisiana – Withering Light
Maine – Sylvia
Maryland – Bereave
Massachusetts – Scaphism
Michigan – Blackgate
Minnesota – Noble Beast
Mississippi – Jared Moran (Yzordderrex/Uzumaki)
Missouri – Existem
Montana – Martriden
Nebraska – Borealis
Nevada – Elephant Rifle
New Hampshire – Eerie
New Jersey – Black Table
New Mexico – Void Ritual
