Location: The UK
Album: IX, out February 24th via Nuclear Blast
RIYL: Mannequins. Goth. Wednesday Addams.
It should surprise no one that a New Noise writer is a fan of goth or industrial music or the 80s punk scenes, but it’s very odd to see those things becoming en vogue in the year of our (dark) lord 2023. Thanks to Tim Burton (another surprise resurgence) and the general sense that society is due for a real fucking collapse at any moment now, dark, synth-based music feels as essential as ever, and the band I was totally unprepared to be my personal soundtrack for this year is a metal band offshoot? Featuring two key members of Paradise Lost (and named after their unexpectedly electronic 1999 album), HOST embody everything awesome about 80s dance music. Few have ever carried the legacy of Depeche Mode quite as well as this record does, and I mean that in the best way possible. Featuring futuristic mannequins as a mascot and adorned with the best goth hooks this side of the Berlin Wall collapse, IX is a treat for anyone who wants to dance away the last vestiges of society.
Guitarist/synth player Greg Mackintosh shares why this really is a labor of love:
“Well I never went off this style. It’s something from my youth that will always be there in one way or another. I had the idea to do this about 4 years ago to revisit influences I hadn’t been in touch with for a while. I immediately wanted to call it Host after the Paradise Lost album that divided people so much at the end of the nineties, and I started to write material initially as a solo project. When the pandemic hit, I decided that it would be more fun and more interesting for the project if I got Nick involved as we both couldn’t tour and had just released a PL album.”
That sense of timelessness works in the band’s favor because there truly was no expectations for HOST:
“We wanted to sum up the essence of what drew us to these various forms of music in the 80’s but hopefully avoid it being just a rehash. The beauty of it for me is that no one asked for it, and no one was expecting it, so there was zero pressure to take it in one direction or another. We went with the flow and the only real outline apart from the 80s essence I mentioned was to create a bunch of sad, reflective, thoughtful songs with a cold feel and plenty of hooks. Once we had the meat and potatoes of the songs, then I had a blast getting creative with atmosphere and sound design.”
