REVIEW & VIDEO PREMIERE: Close The Hatch - "VI" (EP)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 29/09/2017

Label: Red Moth LLC

“VI” is another impressive release from Close The Hatch that explores the boundaries between post rock, noise rock and sludge in distinct and captivating fashion. Hopefully it will gain the band the wider acclaim they truly deserve.

“VI” CD//DD track listing:

1). Purgatory

2). II

3). III

4). The Art of Knowing

5). Little Did He Know

6). VI

The Review:

Close The Hatch continue to develop their intriguing brand of muscular post metal on new EP “VI”. The Ohio quartet’s 2016 EP “Death And Resistance” was a tantalising fusion of post rock atmosphere and super-dense sludge condensed into focused mini epics. Over the course of “VI”, the band refines this sound to perfection and reach new heights of spaced-out heaviness.

“Purgatory” begins with chiming guitars that craft an ambience reminiscent of Russian Circles in their quieter moments. The mood is soon shattered by an avalanche of filthy distortion and a full-throated guttural roar. As the track progresses it shifts between massive angular riffs and swathes of dirty fuzzed-out melody that bring to mind an unbeatable alliance between Sumac and Deftones.

Throughout “VI” Close The Hatch utilise this quiet/loud dynamic to devastating effect. The band manages to negotiate these sonic manoeuvres in an interesting way and avoid obvious slow-building crescendos but still make sure every riff hit home hard. The pummelling noise-rock rumble that erupts from the ominous calm of the central section of “The Black Art Of Knowing” is a particularly fine example of this. Even when the band head into more obvious epic territory on the seven minute title track they maintain their identity helped by the addition of some guest vocals.

“VI” is another impressive release from Close The Hatch that explores the boundaries between post rock, noise rock and sludge in distinct and captivating fashion. Hopefully it will gain the band the wider acclaim they truly deserve.  Check out the brand new and exclusive for their devastating hymn "Purgatory" below

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Close The Hatch - "Death & Resistance" EP (Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 09/02/2016
Label: Independent

Close The Hatch offer up plenty of surprises. “Doubt” provides a low-key start to proceedings; a brooding ballad with sombre verses giving way to crunching choruses where the band cut loose, guitars screaming into the night accompanied by pained, gruff vocals. “The Nighttime Pugilist” offers a stark contrast, gut-churning distortion and punishing riffs combining to create a full-on sludge assault.  These four tracks offer a tantalising glimpse of their sonic ambition; hopefully they will come back with a longer release soon.

“Death & Resistance” CD//DD track listing:

1). Doubt

2). The Night time Pugilist

3). Wayfarer

4). When Street Lights Die

The Review:

There is no shortage of bands willing to label themselves as “post-metal/doom”. Dayton, Ohio quartet Close The Hatch bill themselves as such and while they definitely live up to that description it also sells short their distinct sound as evidenced on their new EP.

“Death & Resistance” offers up an intriguing mix of the very heavy and the very melodic. “Wayfarer” and “When Street Lights Die” demonstrate a potent combination of Deftones style dreamy alt rock and the spiky progressive crunch of Mastodon at their “Remission” peak. Even over the course of the four tracks that make up this EP though, Close The Hatch offer up plenty of surprises. “Doubt” provides a low-key start to proceedings; a brooding ballad with sombre verses giving way to crunching choruses where the band cut loose, guitars screaming into the night accompanied by pained, gruff vocals. It’s an odd but effective track, like the expansive indie rock of Mercury Rev tooled up and ready for battle.

“The Nighttime Pugilist” offers a stark contrast, gut-churning distortion and punishing riffs combining to create a full-on sludge assault. The whole EP benefits from an awesome production job, slick enough to capture the dense physical impact of the band at full bore but lo-fi enough to maintain a rough charm and lend a mysterious nocturnal atmosphere.

Close The Hatch take on a lot of different styles on “Death & Resistance”, fusing them together to create something that is both strangely familiar yet strikingly unique. These four tracks offer a tantalising glimpse of their sonic ambition; hopefully they will come back with a longer release soon.

“Death & Resistance” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Close The Hatch - To Collapse In Absentia: Green EP (Review)

Album Type: EP

Release Date: 26/8/14

Label: Red Moth Records

“To Collapse In Absentia: Green” DD track listing:

1). Purple on Green 07:08

2). Wax & Purpose 05:52

3). Grit & Fire 05:47

4). False Hopes & Gun Smoke 08:32

5). And to All Things... 05:52

Review:

Traveling in rarefied air of twisting genres and groundbreaking original sound, Close the Hatch has a different take on post-metal that cannot be ignored. Eschewing the layered minimalism and tribal buildups of Neurosis for a more expansive melodic palette, Close the Hatch loses none of the intensity needed for the sonic immersion that we all love about post-metal.

A blend of hardcore style vocals blended with some pleasantly nice clean singing and a fantastic production; the drums sound HUGE on this. An impressively balanced and clear mix on this one as well as all the instrumentation sound great and can be clearly heard allowing the wall of sounds to enter even deeper into your headspace.

The second track “Wax & Purpose” moves into more post-rock territory with airy tremolo picked reverb melodies ghosting over dreamscape vocals. “Grit & Fire” enters into some deep Deftones territory particularly around the two minute mark with the song entering into what could be an outtake off “Diamond Eyes.” The coda of this song firmly enmeshes into Explosions in the Sky territory as well with dueling atmospheric guitars. A really cool stylistic blend I like is that Close the Hatch has integrated some less underground elements effectively into their sound.

“False Hopes & Gun Smoke” has what is my favorite sonic part of the album in the vamp for the first couple minutes, a really nice slow burn with some excellent minimalist guitar work and VERY cool use of effects. The longest track on the album, it boasts some long form songwriting more typical of the genre and similar to what Cult of Luna does often in that it builds quiet-heavy over a couple cycles until the last section of the song which makes it feel as if the entire song is building to those moments. The plodding and powerful rhythm guitars during the coda are perfectly placed in this appearance on this song and Close the Hatch definitely picked the right spot to use them.

The closer “And to All Things...” is the most “post-metal” sounding of all the songs boasting riffing/and lead work more typical of the genre. Not to knock it down at all because it's very well done and fits perfectly at the end of this EP leaving you with the feeling the other songs were building to this moment. The interlude in the middle is pretty exceptionally layered as well with some pretty great interplay between the piano and guitars. This is my favorite track on the album and the monolithic singularity of the atmosphere it presents is perfect for those long car rides at night alone. A great EP and I'm sure these guys crush live. Based in Dayton, OH it looks like they have been playing shows in that region and if you're in the area check these guys out. Available on bandcamp below for name your price or from Red Moth Records on CD. Check it out.

Words by: Chris Tedor

It is available here for name your price DD

For more information:

http://closethehatch.bandcamp.com/

http://www.redmothrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CloseTheHatch

Close The Hatch - To Collapse In Absentia (Review)

Album Type :  EP

Date Released : 9/8/2013

Label : Red Moth Records

To Collapse In Absentia, track listing :

1). Wolves 11:12

2). Beyond The Wolves 05:52

3). Victims, Criminal, Lakes & Rivers 04:09

4). Kali 06:54

The Band :
Drums |Shaun Hall
Keys | Josh McGrath
Guitars & Vocals | Stephen Barton
Bass | Shaun O'Shaughnessy
Drums on track #3 |Aaron Fisher
Additional Vocals track #2 | Aaron Fisher

Review :

Progressive music is, by its nature, a temperamental beast. Its typically untypical song structures and time signatures make it something which can hit you differently depending on your mood. Ohio’s post-metal experimentation 5 piece Close The Hatch are no exemption to this rule. Stick on this 4 track EP, weighing in at an impressive 28 minutes, and your opinion on this record could vary with your mind-set. Sometimes, it’s few and far between choruses and lucid sound scapes are utterly transfixing, other times moments of musical brilliance don’t stick around long enough to satisfy.

To that extent, opening with an 11 minute track in Wolves is a bold move, but they have the character to pull it off. It’s sluggish pace is peppered with nuanced guitars and brooding piano and loud, aggressive movements are juxtaposed with lulling clean guitars across the songs long lifespan. The songs structure, which strays from formulaic patterns, opting instead for one with little repetition, the track, takes you on a journey. Yet, such is the intensity of the journey that sometimes it can be hard to listen to the entire song, its lack of resolve, of one key melodic theme often appears strikingly obvious.

Beyond the Wolves then, offers some respite. Driven by a grooving rhythm, it becomes a consistent undertone throughout the track, be it during the storm or the calm. This is a track that welcomes you back with its familiar groove while still taking you someplace else.    

Across the years, bands like Yes, Dream Theater and Rush have shown that progressive rock can be catchy all the while maintaining those key aesthetics. While it is perhaps to compare a band still in their relative infancy with such revered and distinguished acts such as these, you are left wanting a bit more focus on hooks and melody.

That is not to say this band lacks the ability to write one, the album is peppered with them, but like on Wolves and Kali, when they do arrive, they are but a flash in the pan – like a glimpse of the villain in some horror film, it is gone to quickly, leaving questions still be to answered.

Close The Hatch is a good record, full of intricate musicianship, but it takes more than just being good at your instrument to get people to take notice. But if your mind-set leaves you craving for an odyssey in its darkest musical form, To Collapse In Absentia is a record worth latching onto.      

Words by :  Phil Weller

You can buy it here

For more information :

http://closethehatch.bandcamp.com/

http://www.closethehatch.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CloseTheHatch