Review: The Hobos self titled album THE HOBOS

Artist   : The Hobos

ALBUM  : The Hobos

Release Date : 1st July, 2014

LABEL   :Rooh Music International

GENRE  : Experimental Progressive Metal

Album Cover, The Hobos

Featured amongst the top ten rock acts in India on NDTV Good times, Rolling stone show with Luke Kenny. Featured amongst the top ten acts in the country by Rolling Stone Magazine. Channel V Launchpad 2009. The mega Hornbill Rock Contest came to a rapturous ending with Kolkata based ‘The Hobos’ winning the first prize; recently launched an album under the name ‘THE HOBOS’.

As they term themselves experimental, it can be seen in their music; every song in this album has something new for every listener. Starting with first song ‘HONOUR’, it starts with a pure metal riffs and then a dark ambient atmosphere by the synths and with deep vocals creates a dark thing in your mind. The whole song sounds great at all parts, kind of you can get a masterpiece of the whole album is this song with drums giving a perfect HONOUR to the song. Coming down to the solo in this song, it is as mentioned before a masterpiece of the whole album. Concerning the lyrics, it’s really about fighting for your place . ‘ESCAPE’ the second song is a soothing one, taking you down from a dark mood. Starting with a great piano riff there is kind of poetic feel in the start as we used to hear in childhood. Deep vocals gives you an extra feel to the whole song and the song works best when the solo comes on your ears. Bass in this song is sharp to your ears a bit tho. ‘BROKEN HOME’ is also a slow song again which starts with a ballad like piano riffs and as the vocal jumps in, it takes you down to Three Days Grace’s – Last To know memory lane till half point and then it’s a sudden turn separating them from that song’s atmosphere. Solo along with drums sounds good and the bass which was sharp in the song ‘ESCAPE’ sounds perfect in this song. 

The Hobos are really influenced by Ballads as suggested by their song ‘BALLAD BEFORE BUTCHERY’. The title as well as the intro of the song which creates a ballad like atmosphere with violin riffs  and than a slow start with vocals it may sound like a slow shooting song but then it suddenly  takes turn to a fully loaded metal with a solo as it starts and then a different types of vocals skills. It really gives a good touch to song synths perfectly creates a dark black metal type atmosphere where you may also feel Metallica’s touch towards the latter half of the song from their song ‘The Day That Never Comes’ (the solo and also vocals) . ‘ENDLESS TRAUMA’ starting with a guitar riff is a metal creation from the start as the electronic effects comes to end after the solo vocals creates a black atmosphere in start. In the mid part of the song it turns to be a soft sided rock song with solo and electronic effects going together giving a groovy feel to song. And as it ends, it goes back again to where the song started. Beautiful it is! Solos in this song truly gives justice to the whole song. ‘KURUKSHETRA’, the song is justified to the name as the music starts like ‘Mahabharata’ kind of song from soap and then the chant of the Sanskrit mantra makes a stamp for the song. It’s inspired from them fast beats and guitar riffs and the sudden change of tempos, addition of sitar and flutes riffs gives it a distinct feel to whole song. ‘TRANCE OF MAHAKAAL’ starts with guitar and with electro effects and Indian classical vocal riffs. As song goes breakdown gives a difference to this song from all the songs in this album guitars and electronic effects together gives a groovy feel to whole song and addition of sarangi instrument again creates a difference to this song , bass solo is also a new difference as no song in album is having them . ‘LUST’ is the having the longest solo in whole album it is having the normal standard of THE HOBOS matching it in everything it will not be catchy until you heard whole album the ambience at the start with a perfect metal riffs to give a perfect punch and vocals cover all the mood with his deepness electronic effects give them a perfect end to their album’s last song.

          BLACK ALBUM this could be the right word to describe the whole album as it has all darkness and deepness. This album can be given as a tag of different  album to all the rest of the Indian metal bands album released till date , drums has justified why drummer has won the Hornbill’s best drummer award , guitarists and vocalist in all song are amazing which are deep and punch packing to all metalheads and is worth for a buy 

This album can be given as a different album to all the rest of the Indian metal bands album released till date, drums has justified why he won the Hornbill’s best drummer award , guitarists in all song are amazing and vocals which are deep packs a punch .

The hobos from Kolkata, India have released it's debut album on 1st July at Someplace Else, The Park, Kolkata.

The album, called THE HOBOS, was launched by a hearing-impaired student and the band’s website www.thehobos.in was released by a visually impaired student.

The album is under the label of Rooh Music International and CD's will now be available at music stores, online portals like oklisten, shopclues, itunes via  www.thehobos.in.



Reveiwed By- Piyush Chauhan