Harbour – To Have What You Once Hoped For

Canadian metal upstarts HARBOUR add a much heavier side into metal with their raw attitude of heavy hitting attacks, while at the same time giving some very strong and catchy emotion.  Their EP, To Have What You Once Hoped For, gives a full blast of energy, excitement, and a fresh cut of metal.  The band mixes both bone crushing brutality with a wide vocal range of both screaming and clean sung vocals, and HARBOUR really makes a respectable crossover.  The versatility of the vocals is really something to take note of, where we have guttural growls, high rasps, commanding chants, and irresistible clean melodic singing which all fits appropriately with the diverse instrumentation.  Getting into the instrumentation, the band has the chops to create some brutal and unique structures and can switch immediately to create some catchy and shimmering hooks.   

HARBOUR gets right to business with “Give Em The Boot”.  Straight up brutal assaults, frantic drum blasts, and screams ranging from high to low show the heavier side of HARBOUR.  But don’t forget about the more mellow side to HARBOUR because the melody accompanied with clean and welcoming vocals gives you a nice breather.  You have just got to give HARBOUR a hand for pulling off the style that they do so well.  And they aren’t afraid to get loud and let their voice be heard.  Also, when they change the mood so smoothly, it is something that truly sticks out.

“Belicose” comes straight at you with aggression and brutal structures that awaken the beast.  The song shows more of an extreme side to HARBOUR, and they continuously let loose on “Belicose”.  The massive wall of sound here shows that they’ve taken their lessons, and use them fully to their advantage.  The level of extreme comes at full force, to where the band shows great usage of the low end.  From deep grinding extreme metal tones in the breakdowns to the proggy chaos of the brutal structures, HARBOUR creates a variety of unique ways to get you headbanging, some being unexpectedly…

Closing the EP is the brutal and emotional offering of “Owls At Night”.  Sure we hear brutal songs everyday, but it is the ideas that HARBOUR interpret into their music that gives them a little differentiation.  Those strong melodies show some memorable moments, and again, their crossover onto the more extreme side really spices up their sound.   

HARBOUR’s explosive entrance with their EP, To Have What You Once Hoped For, is more than just a foot in the door.  These guys have masterfully taken from a wide range of influences to craft a style that they can call their own.  HARBOUR has found their musical direction and I am stoked for a full length in the future, especially after seeing HARBOUR’s potential.  And I believe that their musical direction will continue to grow in many ways.

Rating: 7/10

Label: unsigned

Website: http://www.myspace.com/harbourourmusic

By Alex Gilbert

(+36 rating, 8 votes)

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