My first taste of Harm’s Way came at Heavy MTL 2019. They had the shitty task of going first on Saturday at 1:30 PM under scalding hot July weather. I had no idea what to expect then and walked on their set because I had nothing else to do. Their bio on the festival’s site claimed they were a hardcore punk band, but it took me a song and a half to understand their sound is a little more complicated than that.
Harm’s Way is not exactly hardcore punk. But it’s not quite powerviolence or industrial metal either. It’s an ass-kicking and unique hybrid of all three and I’m glad to announce their new record Common Suffering is a continuation of their fearless exploration of genre busting ideas.
The opener Silent Wolf will make you confused as whether you’re listening to a Harm’s Way or an Immolation record, with its dissonant guitar riffs and machine gun drumming from Chris Mills. Some of his stuff is straight out of Raymond Herrera’s book. It’s a chuggy, bouncy and muscular song (in the way Harm’s way often is), but it has these progressive ideas that were few and far between on their earlier stuff. It’s as close as I’ve ever heard them from playing death metal.
Denial is more of a conventional Harm’s Way song than Silent Wolf and I mean that in a good way. It could’ve been on their previous record Posthuman. James Pligge’s intense, anthemic vocals clash fiercely against the thick, seesaw guitars while Mills’ simpler drumming carries the pace of the song. It’s an intoxicating, fist-pumping affair in the classic hardcore punk sense of the term. It’s a lot busier and chuggier than any hardcore song you’ve ever heard, but it carries the same fury.
The band takes us into another direction yet on Hollow Cry, a mid-tempo song that focuses on dissonant harmonics and Pligge’s fiery delivery. He delivers the verses in an almost spoken word cadence before exploding into these chaotic choruses. Love the shrieky, feedback heavy (dare I say sludgy?) guitars on this one too. Slowing it down (a little, it’s now a slow song per se) really works in Harm’s Way’s favor as it heightens the power of the performances in the song. I know they’re famous for their jacked frontman, but everybody plays with a chip on their shoulder in this band.
Once again, the band reverts to a more familiar sound on Devour. It’s a leaner, more uptempo song that has these fucking righteous hardcore backing vocals that sounds like a gang of thugs backing up their frontman in a fight. Although there’s a memorable breakdown at the end, I thought Devour lacked a little of the girth that made the other songs on the record so enjoyable. As a band who has a hybrid sound, I understand the impulse to at least periodically check all the boxes, but it doesn’t serve the song at all here. When I listen to Harm’s Way, I want to fear for my life. I wasn't here.
Chris Mills shines again on Undertow. The bombastic production on Common Suffering sure helps him out, but his drumming sound like fucking thunder on that atmospheric intro where Kristina Esfandiari provides spooky vocals. It’s another one of these songs that explodes into a chaotic, raging chorus. Harm’s Way are really good at them. Before closing the song into a robust breakdown, the guitars are really airy and far out in the mix which create a really cool atmosphere where an unlikely duet of James Pligge and Kristina Esfandiari can really shine.
I don’t know about you, but when a band that isn’t black metal prioritizes atmosphere and the bigger picture over playing something ridiculously complex and technical like everyone else, I salute it. It takes balls to do your own thing.
The promotional material for Common Suffering talked about doom metal influences, notably from favorites of mine Khanate. I was curious to hear where these influences could be heard on the record and the cold, dislocated guitar intro to Heaven’s Call definitely reminded me of Stephen O’Malley extreme drone doom unit. Overall the song is a conventionally pissed off Harm’s Way song with chuggy guitars, fat, wobbly bass and perhaps the biggest, nastiest fucking breakdown on the record at the end. It was enjoyable while being a little predictable. It always gets your blood pumping anyway, you know? That’s what Harm’s Way exists for.
Cyanide picks up the thick, groove-laden texture right where Heaven’s Call left off. Man, I feel like I keep talking about him, but I can’t stress how fucking thunderous Chris Mills’ drumming is on that song. It gives the entire band direction and depth. I know James Pligge is their face and soul, but Mills is their beating heart. That guy is good. There are interesting, desolate electronic elements on that song, but I feel like the band could’ve explored them in a more meaningful way. I know Harm’s Way is supposed to sound big and angry, but everyone likes them because they’re not just big and angry. So, I was looking forward to get a feel for how far they could stray from the hardcore formula while keeping their identity, but it’s not what I got on Common Suffering.
Expectations are a bitch, when you love blippity boop music.
Now, Terrorizer was interesting in that regard. A mid-tempo, bass-driven industrial metal song that yanks the band right off its comfort zone. James Pligge’s vocals are farther out in the mix too, which I thought added a nice layer of nuance. Terrorizer is closer to a jacked version of what Godflesh have been doing for thirty-five years than what Harm’s Way has gotten us used to. It’s nice. It doesn’t feel emasculated at all. It has another nasty ass, inhuman breakdown at the end that left me begging for mercy. I wanted more killer robot jams like this on Common Suffering. Terrorizer is my favorite song on the record along with Undertow.
The penultimate song on Common Suffering is another nasty, muscular piece called Sadist Guilt. The band mixes shrewdly elements of industrial metal and hardcore into a seamless hybrid here. It’s the most emblematic Harm’s Way song on Common Suffering if that makes sense. Nick Gauthier and Bo Lueders’ riffs are absolutely delightful on it. Their best work on the record and perhaps the song where they get the best chance to shine as they’re usually more of an accessory in the overall sound of Harm’s Way. The closer Wanderer is also the longest song on the album, clocking in at a respectable 4:22. It’s the Temptation of Common Suffering. A wildly different song that features some clean singing, a shitload of reverb and some downtempo, lingering riffs that feel welcome after all this in your face rage. Harm’s Way are GOOD at experimenting, they should do it more.
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Common Suffering was… well, a very logical record to make, four years after Posthuman. It takes a step further into hybridizing their influences into an original and coherent song. I would’ve liked them to be bolder, go weird and fully embrace their uniqueness, but they only kind of do it here. It’s alright. The band is taking it one step at a time. Common Suffering is well worth punching your walls out to (and you totally will), so enjoy it for what it is. Harm’s Way are still very much themselves, but that self is transforming. Slower than I would’ve liked, but it’s happening and there’s no going back.
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