PREY – Hibernate EP CS

“Hibernate” is a recently released second extended play by PREY, an exceptional Tilburg-based quartet. The cassette edition arrived at our headquarters several weeks ago, so now it’s more than adequate time to give it a proper review. First and foremost, these folks are not joking around with their music. The colossal wall of sound is continuously slapping you in the face, and you’ll notice how they keep the sheer aggression, rawness, heaviness, power, and energy from scratch to finish. As soon as you press play on your tape deck, “Hibernate” resonates with nothing but pure awesomeness thanks to the top-notch musicianship, creativity, talent, skills, and ideas delivered by every band member.

“Black Heathen” opens up this tremendous tape with heavily distorted chord progressions, noisy maneuvers, warm-sounding basslines, and heavy rhythmic sequences. Their mixture of garage rock, punk rock, and rock ‘n’ roll sounds irresistible, but wait until you hear an anthemic chorus. It immediately draws you in and forces you to sing along. “Hibernation” comes up next with the same energy, classic garage rock hooks, themes, and riffs. However, this composition seems a bit more melodic and with even more hymnic parts. The lead vocalist shines bright with his powerful shouts, and the remainder of the group helps him as much as possible. Also, it’s nearly mindblowing how every instrument bursts with power in the mix, from ultra-catchy guitar parts to a heavy rhythm section.

“What’s Lacking” introduces a more classic and modern punk rock sound with a touch of deathrock and post-hardcore. The band goes even deeper into melodies, harmonies, and other ear-appealing hooks, thanks to the outstanding ideas introduced by the guitar player. Also, it’s good to mention that the bass guitar sounds profoundly detailed on this one, while the drummer decorates almost every part of the verse with classic drum fills. “Selfless Joy” returns to garage punk and DC post-hardcore waters with classic Fugazi-alike sonic maneuvers. Still, they spiced things up with impressive riffs that resembles something the Sub Pop Records bands would eventually record. It’s a perfect mash-up of various styles that sounds catchy and impressive. This excellent EP closes with “New Life II,” the song that comes with some intensity and energy like the remainder of the material. Maybe this number leans towards classic punk rock the most, but PREY fully stacked it with enough melody and aggressions, so it showcases what’s this band made of.

PREY nailed with their latest material. Every song is a proper banger that will keep your ears occupied from begining to the end. Every band member plays a significant role in shaping such a rich and luxurious ambiance based upon aggressive shouts, raw guitars, excellent basslines, and profoundly dynamic drumming. The tape is available directly from the band, so head to their Bandcamp page for more information about ordering. Don’t miss it!