H-Insane - Devil's Network EP

Written by Sean M. Palfrey Saturday, 12 September 2009 12:50

Title: Devil's Network
Artist: H-Insane
Genre: Death-Rock
Release Date: 2009
Label: Unsigned



Album Review

Founded in 2006, this duo comprised of Death-Rock & Batcave devotees Serena Fate and Ivy Onyx have been producing their own meaty take on the genre ever since. Before that Serena had a stint as the guitarist for the Death rockers ALL GONE DEAD, whereas Ivy had played with a host of “quite unknown projects”. This is the band's first EP, and I have to say it isn't half bad - the guitar work is nice and punky, the drums have a nice solid sound to them and the vocals are raw but tuneful.

‘Devil's Network’ is an almost poppy slice of Post-Punk meets Death-Rock that would have had more than a few 80's dance floors moving had it been released in 1979 rather than 2009 - ah well, better late than never! 'Save My Life' continues the formula at a slightly slower pace in places before giving us the tempo we really want and throws in some more Halloween friendly humour for good measure. 'Copy n Paste' is the punkiest feeling track on the album with its driving guitars in bouncy a Superheroins / Eva O fashion. 'Speed' is a great riff driven slice of mid-tempo dance floor friendly Death-Rock that does exactly what you would expect - not the most innovative track ever but ticks all my boxes non-the-less. Finally, 'Tiny Monsters' plays with a few more effects and gets a little heavier with a future Halloween classic that sounds not unlike an old Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 or Maniac Spider Trash cut but without the constant stream of b-movie slasher references - it also has the benefit of having the best production job on the EP.

It's not ground breaking or innovative, but it isn't supposed to be - if you read off the check list for “a good Death-Rock release to have a dance to” then this is it. The production is often lacking the spit and polish it deserves, and occasionally some parts of the tracks sound awfully similar to those that have gone before - but this is punk rock, not rocket science and as a debut it is a good one with a lot of potential for growth.


Tracklist

01. Devil's Network
02. Save My Life
03. Copy 'n' Paste
04. Speed
05. Tiny Monsters


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