Review Summary: BLOOD, ON SATAN'S BLADE!!! IN SATAN'S NAME, WE CAME FOR BLOOD!!!!
The Hookers are a very metallic hardcore band from Kentucky. The band describes their sound as combining the thunder ofÂ*Blue Cheer, the speed ofÂ*MotorheadÂ*and the teachings ofÂ*Anton Lavey. The band formed in 1994 and have dropped a handful of albums and many 7"s throughout their existence. Their biggest claim to fame may be the fact that they had a track featured on Tony Hawk's Underground. This album dropped in 2014 via Razorback Records and showcases the band leaning further into their metal influences than ever before. I've been a long time Razorback fanboy and buy up every release with their stamp on it and have followed this tradition since discovering the darker side of metal in my youth. Being a rabid horror fan and stumbling across Ghoul- Maniaxe in the clearance bin at my local used CD shop played a crucial part in shaping my music taste in the years to come.
The album kicks off with "Devil's Wedding Night". This one is a total anthem along with every song on this total adrenaline rush of an album. Speedy, southern fried riffs fly at you at rapid speed and you can quite literally feel the soul of Motorhead coming through the speakers as The Hookers kick out the jams like the true seasoned pros that they are. This song is followed by "Rape Your Fucking Corpse", a track that even my mother loves, although she isn't too fond of the lyrical themes. It features amazing sing along lyrics such as "THE AFTERLIFE WILL BE DIVINE!! AS I TAKE YOU FROM BEHIND!!! WORSHIP THE NIGHTTT!!!!".
It's Midnight... the Witching Hour clocks in at just over 30 minutes and it's the fastest 30 minutes you'll ever experience. This is one of those rare albums I can listen to front to back and then restart and do it all over again and get just as much joy as I did the first time. Since it's release it has never left rotation and still to this day I put it on whenever I drive to a concert to get my adrenaline going and set the tone to have a badass night of metallic madness. I'm convinced that throwing this album on and screaming along to every word from start to finish is one of the most rewarding things you can do in life and if I can turn a single person on to experiencing this bliss then I consider this review a success!
The guitar here consists of riffing that is heavily leaning towards the more gritty side of rock and traditional metal. There's some nasty, high octane solos sprinkled in here and there that really take things over the top. The drumming is relentless and each an every hit has some solid power behind it. Vocals consist of crackling screams that just make you want to join in. The vibe here is completely in your face and almost seems like you're actually front row at a show no matter how you jam it.
Overall It's Midnight... the Witching Hour is one of the most satisfying albums I have ever heard. It's so damn catchy and just reeks of badassery from top to bottom. It never gets old even after the thousand plus spins I've more than likely given it. I've bought extra copies of this album just to hand it out to friends because of how passionate about it I was when I first jammed it. I've even made a few friends that normally don't enjoy metal or punk fans of this band. I can't recommend this album enough to fans of metal/punk or just fans of fast music in general. The Hookers nail it every moment of this album. Whether it be the epic metal anthem "Kneel Before Me", or the stupidly catchy "Tonight Was Made For Killing" (my personally favorite where their punk side truly shines brighter than ever), or the southern tinged jam "The Devil Rides Tonight". JAM IT AND HAVE FUN!
