At the tail end of 1999, round about the time conspiracy theorists thought the turn of the millennium would trigger the end of the world – or at the very least, stop everyone’s computers from working – an independent band from England masquerading under the provocative name History of Guns released their debut EP ‘Little Miss Suicide’. It presented some fairly rough around the edges alternative sounds, drawing from goth, industrial and rock, and would lay the foundations for future endeavours. For those keeping a close ear to the alternative underground, HOG would continue to make interesting musical waves. At their peak of the first part of their career, they were even invited to remix a track by ex-Marillion frontman Fish, bringing together two disparate musical words, proving that – at least to those with open minds – music knows no boundaries.
The original recording of ‘Little Miss Suicide’ has a particularly homespun quality. The vocals and drums are prominent, but there are moments throughout where the guitar parts sound as if they’re buried in a swamp. That’s not to say the recording is without character; inhabiting a strange place where the vocal croon of Fields of The Nephilim is joined by bleak goth-noise that hints at Alien Sex Fiend, the track has its own retro charm. Granted, the finer points of the melody are fairly hidden, but the ideas are solid enough.
This hasn’t escaped the band’s notice. A quarter of a century on, they’ve revisited the track for its anniversary, and the reworked recording presents an improvement at every turn. The opening piano and sample are pretty much identical, but from therein, the number sounds like it should have sounded (to use a rather glib phrase). The arrival of the drum part shares more of a punch, and this is particularly notable during the first verse. The guitars are bigger, but without sounding too much like a massively professional recording, so in that respect, it retains a lot of the original cut’s true spirit. Those factors alone would make this worthwhile, but with everything mixed in such a way to give the feeling of a more mature vocal from Del Gilbert – though still very much of the weirdly theatrical Alien Sex Fiend school of ugliness – and a bigger concession to industrial sounds during the instrumental interlude, ‘Little Miss Suicide’ is given the best send off possible on the DIY budget clearly favoured by Max Rael and his associates.
A genuinely new track ‘I Am Defective’ shows off a sharper History of Guns, via a hard edged, mechanical rhythm delivered by the kind of drum machines favoured by the likes of M/A/R/R/S in years gone by, and a world of dark synth bleeps that bring a dancier edge to the arrangement. With blasts of metallic guitar from Gary Hughes channelling the dance loops for dominance, this seems as if it’ll be a solid industrial track, but then, things change rather dramatically. The guitars disappear – at least beyond offering bits of feedback – leaving Rael’s busy keys to take the reins for a solid electronica themed jam at the heart of the arrangement, creating some very pointed melodies that’ll certainly appeal to the synth/dance core of the HOG audience. Finally, it’s all change again, as everything works up to a massive climax where the industrial guitars swamp everything RevCo style. Being an instrumental offering, it actually stands a good chance of appealing to a broader audience; it certainly makes this release worth the small cost of a download.
Providing extra value, a “deep mix” of ‘Little Miss Suicide’ takes HOG’s work into the realms of retro club sounds when the drum and bass parts are presented with a harder, almost funk oriented focus, and moments of long, almost passive synth work bring an electro-goth edge to a great, almost spiky melody. During the first part of the eight minute workout, Gilbert’s vocal is also manipulated to allow bits of the original hook to drift in and out, and in doing so provides the stronger link with the source material. Eventually, the whole of the lyric finds room within the arrangement, creating a goth-dance hybrid that shows off many of History of Guns’ offbeat talents. This is a great piece of work, since it’s impossible to tell when it was created: some elements call back to early 90s experiments from The Orb; the bright keyboard riffs occasionally owe more to an Ibiza soundtrack from ’97, the funk bass sounds like a 70s sample reworked by the Chemical Brothers, and the final keyboard melody brings a more contemporary layer of synth pop cool that lifts everything considerably.
This is a curious release, in that the main feature – and presumably the selling point for History of Guns, very much looking to improve on an early yet important step in their career – is very much the weak link. However, whether you’ve followed Max and Del from their rough beginnings, found them somewhere along the way through internet word of mouth, or have yet to experience their crossover sound, this download will bring something of interest. Even as a “stop gap”, this offers a DIY charm that’s often interesting, and there are certainly moments where the instrumental and dance oriented moments really shine.
February 2025
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