HO9909 are the New Jersey group bringing a magma like amalgamation of hip-hop/ rock/ punk/thrash fuelled by lyrical content akin to the energy of an imploding red star.
In truth, their output will fall into two categories; either you will hate it or you will love it-regardless, you and more religiously minded people seething with incredulity will be talking about them. Undoubtedly that is the name of the game (whether right or wrong). In today’s musical landscape you can get lost in the wilderness if you don’t stand out.
What they bring to the table however is a genuine anarchic, fuck all of you attitude which is in some respects just what we need in this global climate where there is an imbalance in power as the oppressed are oppressed even more by the powers that be.
Their latest single War Is Hell is the third in a trilogy of video releases from their debut LP. In this single it addresses the aforementioned imbalance and comes with a scary dystopian vision (directed by Behn Fannin) made more worrying because it’s from now-it’s not a fictitious future world on the contrary the images are a pastiche of past news related events. The iconic image of the lone man standing in front of the might of a tank in Tiananmen Square just one of many powerful images.
The single vibrates with a menacing verve covering subjects of; racism, oppression, prejudice, violence, police brutality, political brutality exemplified by angry guitar riffs calling for action- (if need be anarchy), a thudding yet simple kick drum resonates purposefully as the video depicts visions of fire, resistance, blood-shed and flashing images of the White House-welcome to the United States Of Horror where capitalism is God.