Review: Hocico – 'Ofensor'

HOCICO

‘Ofensor’

OUT OF LINE

Pour the blood of Andy LaPlegua, the bones of Chris L and some HCl into a cauldron. This would be my culinary interpretation of Mexico’s contribution to the alternative music scene. Hocico has been a needle of electronica on the nerve of agile rage for many years, since its birth in the 90s. The cousins between themselves have places in side projects of the lighter industrial ‘Rabia Sorda’ & the industrial dance-hungry ‘Kriminal Minds’. This year has been met with EP releases of ‘In The Name Of Violence’ & ‘Forgotten Tears’, both two harsh opposing contrasts of each other.

The introduction prepares you for the smiles of Mexican horror to come, and ‘Relentless’ begins telling you that the nightmare is not coming from the Tequila. The thumping of the second track is indeed the time whereby the bass is keeping you far from reality, and you are not about to wake up any time soon.

However; maybe that rage from the Tequila is just making you ‘Sex Sick’? You can taste the flesh under the synthesiser; as the electro throws your eardrums harshly against the wall of decibels.  As the velour of harsh electronic copulation wears off, the body takes a dropkick to the jaw with ‘Bienvenido A La Maldad’ as the fun is not over yet. The composition brings muscles to a tense vibration, unleashing a sudden burst of tequila rage in the form of electro body music.

The falling of ‘El Destello En El Cristal’ visualises the metabolic failure under an intense previous two tracks. Thus with ‘Heart Attack’ you are about to have some reality touch your pretty head and show the mess you made. If the last two songs were the reality caving in; the composition of ‘Mind Circus’ would be the run from reality, and back to the heinous adrenaline.  Smiles in the background are in the 5^th circle, as that taste of metal cannot be numbed by the evil in your neck.

Hocico put the sex back into evil, the detachments of reality are made quite clear, in this section of the Mexican group’s timeline. An injection of venom burns into the back of the neck, as those muscles tingle to the mental skipping in dance of ‘Auf Der Flucht’ rage that is absolute. ‘In The Name Of Violence’ from its positioning in the album marks the end of the album for me. Why? Try keeping that endurance from the beginning to the end of this album and the last track is irrelevant.

If we look at the mechanics of what ERK Aicrag and Rasco Agroyam engineered, we find the addictive rhythm seen from trance music, brought to an 8 Ball nightmare due to the addition of aggrotech and industrial. It is as it is, if you are looking to get lost in anger, rage and the feel the pain; however be brought to disregard it, Hocico is the right choice for you.

For I the reviewer, an accomplishment like this is brought in parallel with the 2008 'Memorias Atras' album. A creation that made a great impact in what anger could achieve when harnessed. But more importantly; 'Ofensor' has the same well-coordinated increase and decrease in speed; that makes tracks on the album become absorbed more easily, thus much more enticing. 

Reviewed by Dominic Lynch aka DJ LX-E

Read More

Hocico announce best of compilation, 'Los Días Caminando En El Fuego'

Mexican aggrotech duo Hocico are celebrating 20 years of existence in style with the release of a massive “best of...” collection. 'Los Días Caminando En El Fuego' collects the band's classic songs, a brand new track in the form of 'Thy Kingdom Come' and some newly discovered trove of unfinished early songs lying dormant on the band's old Yamaha workstation.

The album will be available through Out Of Line records on 30th August 2013 as a deluxe CD version containing three CDs, as well as a special limited pyramid box set which will also include goodies such as a t-shirt, amulet and a photobook.

Track List:

CD 1
1. Ancestros, Das Feuer and The Past (20 Years Ago)
2. Fade Into Oblivion
3. Thy Kingdom Come
4. Come And Eat It!
5. Song Of Hate
6. Open The Gates Of Hell
7. Army of Puppets
8. Saviors
9. El Renacer de los Caídos
10. I'm Insane
11. Dissolve Me
12. Silencio En La Tierra De Los Suen?os
13. Trust (the cure cover)
14. The Dreamers
15. Go Fuck Yourself!
16. Follow Me Down

CD 2
1. God Wrote Me A Letter
2. Rebellious
3. Wild Night Out
4. Reincarnate
5. La Marcha De los Enterrados
6. Age Of Perdition (Studio Raw Version)
7. House Of The Spirits
8. Dead Of Winter
9. La Danza De Mi Sombra
10. In A Few Hours You'll Be Dead
11. Concreto
12. Not Like You (First Take)
13. En La Mirada Del Asesino
14. The Last Human On Earth

Bonus CD – 'Dias de Perros'
1. Discontent (1999)
2. Placer (1990)
3. Hate You (1998)
4. Enfermedad Siniestra (1989)
5. Illusion (1990)
6. Burning Eyes (1997)
7. Lluvia Podrida (1991)
8. Transtorno Psiquico (1989)
9. Convulsion (1995)
10. Mente Retorcida (1991)

Hocico will also be playing the following live dates:

30.08.2013 - Augsburg -DE - Kantine / Schwimmbad (Special Guests: Formalin + Too Dead To Die)
31.08.2013 - Berlin - DE - Bi Nuu - 20th Anniversary Concert (Special Guests: Formalin + Too Dead To Die)
07.09.2013 - Deutzen - DE - NCN Festival
13.09.2013 - Göteborg - SE - Musikens Hus
14.09.2013 - Malmö - SE - Babel

'Los Días Caminando En El Fuego' is available to pre-order now via the Out Of Line webshop. For more information on Hocico, please visit their official website.

Read More

Interview: Hocico

Soundtrack To The End Of The World...

"In my opinion you really have to be ready to lose everything including friends and family and you’ve got be really crazy to give up everything for what you love."

With over 20 years in the industry, Hocico are certainly one of the better known and respected acts in the electro/industrial scene.  New album ‘El Ultimo Minuto’ carries on their tradition of harsh beats and abrasive melodies, with a theme of “sound track to the end of time”.

Kevin Morris caught up with them for a brief chat at their recent London show.

It’s a surreal day already. Gig days are usually hectic. Things go wrong, things get delayed and there is this constant fight against the ‘doors opening time’ and any associated curfews. But, the soundchecks are done. For all bands. Everything is calm and relaxed. Surreal.

Erk and Oscar always seem calm and relaxed. If Erk was any more laid back he’d be horizontal! A total different persona from the maniac stomping around on stage! He doesn’t even seem to have let travelling get to him too much.
“We hit traffic from the airport, so it took us about 90 minutes to get here from Gatwick, it was difficult but we made it- and we’re doing good!”

Although tonight’s show in London is well attended and is a great atmosphere, it’s still small fry to what they’ve achieved elsewhere globally. They’ve been creeping up festival bills for years and last year headlined the M’era Luna festival.

“We’ve been around for 20 years now, it’s good but we’re still full of energy to go on, it’s pretty crazy to us that we’re a 20 year old band, it doesn’t feel like it, but we’ve been around for 20 years!”

This is almost criminal. They do not look old enough to have been doing a band for 20 years. Note to self: get Hocico’s diet tips.

“Our souls are young even if we are not so young! It’s good that we can headline festivals, it’s great. It’s great.”

It’s not just M’era Luna either, shows back in Mexico are also big deals.

“We get like a minimum of a thousand people, it’s close enough not underground music any more… but the amount of people who come to hour shows there, it’s just crazy!  It’s like a really giant party”

Away from the excitement of live shows, there is the matter of the new album, 'El Ultimo Minuto'….

“Part of the concept of the album is like a sound track to the end of time, the other is the idea is you gotta live your life to the fullest, you never know when the last day will come.”

Is that an important philosophy of yours?
“Yeah, every day could be the last day so I really enjoy living life to the fullest.”

The album came out at about the same time as the alleged “Mayan’s Predict end of world” saga last December (of course, the reality was it was merely the end of the calendar – but morons do like to blow things out of propotion). Erk admits that this may have a small impact on the songwriting.

“Yeah, the whole concept of the album is influenced by this  misconception of culture and of the Mayan calendar, this panic and paranoia of how the world was going to end got into the music somehow, we used all this paranoia to make some music!”

Just as the media used it to sell a lot of newspapers…

“The media don’t show the whole picture. It’s hard to get through but people should question what they see or hear. The internet should always be free, the internet is powerful, TV is just bullshit, that’s not reality and it’s sad that internet is getting more and more controlled; I think it’s important that people fight for their right to say whatever they want.”

Erk and Oscar are cousins, they spent many of their younger life together, as they had similar musical tastes.   So, for all their history, it’s said with a smile when asked what Hocico feel their biggest achievement has been, “That we don’t hate each other!

“Of course being in a band sometimes it’s too close and unbearable, but we’ve learned to live together and it’s very important to work through our differences, we need to.”

There’s a growing discontent amongst bands who are not happy with their lot, or maybe bands who are happy but still want to build to achieve more, Hocico have simpler ambitions for the future.

“I would like to keep on doing what I do, that’s my biggest wish. As long as I can make or produce music, I don’t have expectations to get into the charts or stuff like that, I mean it would be cool but it’s not like a goal.

“It’s funny, I mean we’re pretty much lucky bastards in that we can make a living on music, I know that not every band has a chance to do it but we feel pretty lucky and we appreciate that, we know lucky we are.”

It’s very apparent that Hocico are very humble – they’re thankful of what they’ve achieved and appreciative of their success. But is it luck? Skill? Or more than that…?

“In my opinion you really have to be ready to lose everything including friends and family and you’ve got be really crazy to give up everything for what you love. If you’re not ready for this it will be pretty hard to change from a hobby at the weekends. People who really make it in music are people who really concentrate. For us we’re too radical to do jobs, so we do this. Is it art or is it death? I can only do what I do or I die.”

Which almost takes us full circle, so… given the theme for the album and interview…what would you do if you were given just one day to live?

“What would I do?  Well I mean as I said I live every day to the fullest I would probably just do the same as what I’m doing now, if I found out I’m dying tomorrow, I’d just play a show you know? Just go to London and play a show, a party for the end of the world!”

And they did…

Hocico's latest album, 'El Ultimo Minuto (Antes De Que Tu Mundo Caiga)' [check out our review HERE - Ed.] is available now via Out Of Line. Kev's review of the Hocico show at Electrowerks is also available to view HERE. For more information on the band please visit their official website.

Read More

Live: Hocico - Electrowerkz, 9th March 2013

HOCICO (+ XMH, SYSTEM:FX)

Electrowerkz, London 

9^th MARCH 2013 

The last time these eyes witness Hocico, they laid waste to a packed Hangar stage at their headline slot at M’era Luna last August.

That was a show in front of thousands of people, all united in a great party – today we’re only talking hundreds, sometimes smaller crowds are much harder to work.

Although, the way a few are bopping around to opening act XMH, there’s clearly a crowd in the mood for it. Taking 30 minutes of simple dancefloor fodder, they bring bouncy beats with hints of trance amongst the energetic array of tracks.

They’ve clearly a small following of their own and they certainly get people in the mood.  Though a lack of standout tracks and some done-to-death samples keep them from being much more, however, an enjoyable start to the evening.

System:FX are much more organised on this, they hit the right spots and hit them harder.  It’s a fully live set up with guitars, keyboards and drums and that adds an extra boost to the tracks.

With gnarling vocals, catchy rhythms and crunching beats, they hammer the point home and demonstrate just why they play such prime slots.  One of the UK’s stand out acts for sure.

There’s a positive atmosphere brewing even before Hocico take to stage, this is a band people are genuinely excited to see. That the first big cheer is given when the onstage techies get the video stream working just shows the head start they’ve got.

High expectations can lead to mass disappointment, packed out venue, great support acts, crowd in a positive mood…yeah, can be a set up to a fall….or… it can only get better.

The Hocico set is almost like a large party, the message on the new album was “live every day like it’s your last” and everyone is dancing like there’s no tomorrow as Erik and Oscar plough through a mix of new tracks and old favourites, tracks like ‘Vile Whispers’ and ‘T.O.S of Reality’ are standout tracks and so add those to an already impressive roster and you can see why Hocico are doing so well 20 years into their career.

Their Latino harsh electro has become a staple many have copied but few can come close to recreating the energetic power of a Hocico live show.  Whilst Oscar is mobile tied up with keys, Erik more than makes up for this by jumping and bouncing around the stage with full-on power and energy for well over an hour. It must keep him very fit!

Of course, part of their live experience is also the accompanying video projections, which on a smaller stage becomes a bigger part of the experience – it’s almost like they’re part of the horror they’re creating.

London has become another ground they’ve laid waste to, as they demonstrate again why they’re one of the “leaders” of the scene.

Read More

Review : Hocico - 'El Último Minuto'

Hocico

'El Último Minuto'

OUT OF LINE

Cousins Erik and Oscar are back again with their seventh aggro-tech opus 'El Útimo Minuto'.  Based around a loose concept of the last music you hear before you die, released in December to coincide with the end of the Mayan cycle (that some morons believed to mean they’d predicted the end of the world…).

The ingredients are pretty much all there, eleven tracks of hard pounding electro, underlying apocalyptic synths and harsh vocals.

Granted, having Hocico written on a record is a seal of approval that the contents are going to be good, but it’s all becoming a bit formulaic. Nothing new or innovative here. Granted, it’s difficult not to dance along to the likes of ‘The Watcher’ or ‘Vile Whispers’ but neither of these are going to become classics.

OK, it’s unfair to be down on an album due to not containing classics, but moreso, in a scene dominated by the dance floor, it lacks even more than short-lived club hits.

Nevertheless, ‘El Útimo Minuto’ is packed with abrasive rhythms and pounding beats, the occasional spiked groove pierces through and prods you to dance and maybe it’s not full of long-lasting anthems but is still a competent release.

Read More