Album Review: Humanfly - Darker Later

With an album title like 'Darker Later' and songs called 'This Is Where Your Parents Fucked', its not surprising Humanfly's third album is packed with beastly riffs that are delivered in abundance. The latter opens the record with a slow burning intro before blasting through heavy guitars and pounding drums, it sets the standard for the rest of the record. While John Sutcliffe's vocals is reminiscence of Black Sabbath.

'English And Proud And Stupid And Racist' continues the use of crushing riffs, whilst 'Stew For The Murder Minded' is a frenzied Humanfly as their up the tempo and are joined by chaotic screaming vocals. Its a track that shows variation but at over five minutes long its stretching it a little.

The interesting opening to 'The Enemy Of My Enemy Is Me' involves Sutcliffe's shouting his head off before the band go straight into a full on metal onslaught; growling vocals, sharp riffs and thrashing drums make up the bulk of the track. Whereas the title track is completely at the other end of the scale; a slow, quiet acoustic-led number that in the context of the whole record, could be considered an interlude.

The closing 'Heavy Black Snow' stretches far at 17 minutes and is intriguing, as the band use elements of metal and prog-rock whilst the narrator (Rose Kemp) tells a story of England's demise.

If you're fan of metal that is dense and well-layered 'Darker Later' will be of interest for you, as Humanfly have delivered a record that has been carefully crafted and written but most importantly it lives and breathes off the mighty heavy riffs that are delivered in abundance here.

3/5

'Darker Later' by Humanfly is released on November 8th through Brew Records.

Humanfly on MySpace and Facebook.

Sean Reid