Hobbsy - Risen From The Dead

Hobbsy

Risen From The Dead
self-released; 2015

3.6 out of 5

By J Simpson

Risen From The Dead, from Geelong, Australia's Hobbsy, is real horror show, o my brothers and sisters! It's a creepy-crawl through some cobwebbed dungeon, coming on like a fungal infection and grabbing hold of your brainsteam.

Hobbsy began as the brainchild of ex-Smoking Joker's bass player Ben Hobbs. Following the Joker's break-up, Hobbs felt the crave to branch out, beyond the strictures of a conventional rock band. The open experimentation pays off, as Hobbsy blends the best of cinematic metal and the thrash attack of glammy arena rock.

"Second Coming" sets the scene, full of skeletal candelabras, with its spooky atmosphere." It's a moody affair that would sound great on the soundtrack for an early '80s zombie flick like Return Of The Living Dead. Hobbsy lets the lingering dread build before erupting into the slamming of chaos of "The Few and the Many."

"The Awakening" is smothered in beds of distortion and dynamic vocals. The vocalist sings "Open your mind to the possibilities and what you will find will surely define The rest of your life on this blue speck of dust." It brings to mind the poetic prowess of Car Sagan but is delivered like a demon from the seventh layer of hell.

Once the riffs start, they never relent, although Hobbsy goes through the paces, showcasing many moods and textures, like the moody psychedelic ballad "I Am." Hobbsy, like nearly every artful metallic rock band, claims Tool as an influence. You can hear it in the glistening flanged bass. It's just as effective here, like meditatively staring at a hunk of reflective hematite. It's a dark psychedelia that gives a sense of pensive angst and restrained emotions.

Hobbsy has it all - technicality, strong songwriting, interesting imagery. For those that like to go on a journey when they listen, Risen From The Dead is a trip! It's dark, but it's worth it.

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