Album Of The Week: United States Of Horror by Ho99o9

I can’t believe that Halloween is tomorrow which means that Eddie’s 31 Days of Halloween officially comes to an end. So for the whole month of October, I wanted to keep things fresh with different artists and I thought we did a great job of that, but now it’s time to introduce some fresh blood to the blog. The group that I chose for today comes all the way from New Jersey and they have toured The US and Europe with the likes of Alice In Chains, Korn, Underoath, Prophets Of Rage, Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, The Dillinger Escape Plan, 3Teeth, and so many more. I am talking about Hardcore Hip Hop, Horrorcore, Trap Metal, geniuses Ho99o9 (pronounced Horror). The group is made up of theOGM, Eaddy, and Brandon Pertzborn who formed the group in 2012 who has cited DMX, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and White Zombie (Rob Zombie) as some of their influences when it comes to music. After one mixtape and two EP’s, the band would release their debut album United States Of Horror on May 5, 2017 via Deathkult Records. I discovered the group all thanks to Corey Taylor of Slipknot and his Halloween playlist as he included the group on the list among others. The album was listed at number 38 on Loud & Quiet’s Top 40 Albums of 2017 list while Kerrang! listed it at number 40 on their Kerrang!’s Albums of 2017 list.

1. U.S.H.- An intro track that is basically a little girl saying the groups version of the Pledge Of Allegiance. 4/5

2. War Is Hell– a techno like trap music that is all about how the group go against the grain and establishment and they are unapologetic about it. 4.5/5

3. Street Power– a track that mixes elements of Punk Rock along with the trap/hip hop sound and it works very well in this song all about the people taking the streets back. 4.5/5

4. Face Tatt– a track that would make The Prodigy with it’s Firestarter like sound and the songs is as chaotic as the lyrics are. 4/5

5. When Death Calls– an interlude or intro that is just weird with a woman I think saying the title of the track. 4/5

6. Bleed War– a bad ass track that has a little bit of Nu Metal feel to it with a little bit of an industrial/punk feel. I think the track is all about how politicians sell your soul for war. 5/5

7. Moneymachine– The track is very eerie in the beginning and it carries an element of that throughout the track with that electronic hip hop sound in this track about how money talks. 4/5

8. Splash– a horrorcore track at heart through and through in this song that is all about living it up and don’t worry about the other stuff. 4.5/5

9. Knuckle Up– another industrial rap/rock track that is one of my favorite tracks on this album cause it’s high energy and packs a hell of a punch in this pump up track. 5/5

10. Dekay-another industrial electronic punk track that I have no idea what he is saying in this track 4/5

11. Sub-Zer0– a punk rock track that showcases how different these guys can be if they want to and how broad their music horizons are. 5/5

12. Feels Like…– Another interlude on the record 4/5

13. City Rejects– Another punk rock song that kicks ass on the album that has a little of a Sex Pistols flair to it attitude wise. I think it’s a track about the underground scene. 4.5/5

14. Hydrolics-a trap song and all he wants is hydraulics on his ride. 4/5

15. New Jersey Devil-a Motorhead like punk song that all of a sudden slows down during the verse before it picks up again with some fury. I believe he’s talking about the streets of Jersey and how it can be war on the streets. There is this intense moment with some heavy drums and bass that kicks ass. 5/5

16. United States of Horror– The title track is more of a industrial rap/metal track in this track all about the bad boys rising up and taking over. 4.5/5

17. Blaqq Hole-The last track on the album and it starts off very weirdly almost like you are in a horror film. It’s more of a long outro that ends the album. 4/5

My Final Thoughts– These guys are super creative and I love how they mix so many styles that we already know work well with each other. I love the infusion of Industrial, Punk, Metal, Trap, Electronic, and so many more. They have since released two more EP’s, but I am definitely looking forward to a second album. Check out this album, I am giving it 4.4 stars out of 5 for a final grade.