Hooghwater - Self-Titled
Hooghwater is a newcomer in the Dutch rock/metalscene. They formed in September 2007, but all three of the band members have made their mark on the scene with other bands (Joseph and Chris played in the punkband Restless Youth and Ries played in various bands like The Spades, Powervice a.o.).
It’s quite hard to describe what kind of rock music Hooghwater plays. It has some hints of seventies psychedelica combined with a stonerrock flavour. Motorpsycho is a name that popped up in my head quite a few times.
Normally I am not a big fan of this kind of music, but somehow this trio sucked me into their melodies and compositions. You really can tell that these guys are veterans. They find an excellent balance in using widespread psychedelic riffs, but not stray away too far from the essence of the song. With a lot of bands the song comes in second place to those riffs, but Hooghwater manages to stay focused on the song as a whole. Kudos!
If I have to deliver some critique, then I would have to say that the songs could be a tad shorter and the vocal lines a bit more interesting. I know that the vocalist isn’t the main factor in these kind of bands, but I would like to see Joseph use his voice more powerful on a next effort. Sometimes his voice fades away to the prominent resonating sounds. And that’s too bad, because he really can sing and has a nice voice that suits such a band excellently.
80/1001Details Suburban
Released on Thursday Jun 26th, 2008
Rock
Writer @Neurotic on Wednesday Sep 24th, 2008
Tags: #Hooghwater
Tracklisting
1. Hard Rain Felt
2. When They Arrived
3. Knocked On Our Door
4. Stole The Soul
5. Burned Our City
2. When They Arrived
3. Knocked On Our Door
4. Stole The Soul
5. Burned Our City
Line up
Joseph Meurs – Vocals&Guitar
Chris Blankers – Guitar&Bass
Ries Doms – Drums&Percussion
Chris Blankers – Guitar&Bass
Ries Doms – Drums&Percussion