At the end of 2023, House of Hosts’ debut single ‘Oblivion’ introduced a band who clearly knew their way around a riff. Right from the off, it showcased a band who could potentially crush their audience with relative ease. A few of the vocals were perhaps a little too gruff to fit with the alternative metal backdrop, but it presented something with a great potential. Over the course of a couple more singles, the rough edges had been ironed out a little, but by often sharing a cleaner vocal over a heavy sound, this Welsh band marked themselves out as a rising talent and an act that might build a committed following rather quickly.

Their debut EP ‘Reckoning’ makes good on that early promise. ‘Pedestal’, in particular, stands out immediately as being a cut above everything House of Hosts have previously released. Opening with a mix of semi gothic tones and acoustic strums, the number introduces itself in a relatively subtle way, but it isn’t long before the band reach for something rather more intense. A mid tempo and weighty riff waste no time in advertising a love for the mighty Stone Sour, and this carries through a more sedate verse when the heavier sounds fall away to make good on the melodic aspects promised in the intro. In a perfect fit, vocalist Daniel Foley-Griffiths reaches inside himself for the kind of cleaner toned croon that drove Stone Sour tracks like ‘Through Glass’, and this, naturally, has the effect of making the heavier parts seem even more intense upon their return. When it comes to sharing that heaviness, the whole band can be heard in superb form. The mid tempo allows for a weighty guitar sound (courtesy of James Russell and Ross Davies), but that sounds even more brutal when the longer notes give way for more of a hardcore infused, pneumatic element, where drummer Beth Goodwin dominates the arrangement. Despite being constructed from familiar sounding riffs and having moments where the track veers a little too close to sounding like its chief influences, ‘Reckoning’ is a superb workout – very much the kind of recording that uses its love of Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold and others to showcase brilliant musicianship, and use its huge vocal hooks to show off a still relatively new band who are very much unafraid to make their presence felt.

‘Confession’ immediately suggests something a little more old school due to an intro dominated by a very 80s sounding guitar riff and heavy bass drum, but once the melody branches out into the verse, HOH start to sound more as if they’re channelling Avenged Sevenfold. The mix of crunch and accessible melodic metal elements continues to show off the band’s collective skills brilliantly, but it’s clear that Daniel is in the driving seat when it comes sharing the the bigger melodies here. His voice is very strong and when dropping into another Stone Sour-ish verse, he works a whole range of great sounds – sounding far better than he did on ‘Oblivion’ a little over a year earlier. His older style voice makes a brief appearance during the track’s climax, however, just to remind everyone that the Hosts’ heaviest side still lurks within. From a musical perspective, this number’s instrumental break is especially impressive, with James and Ross delivering a flawless twin lead break, and a couple of speed driven solos sharing more of a love of classic 80s metal. Listen even more closely, and you’ll hear everything being driven by a superb bass, with Jack Hunt adding a superbly weighty sound, and even dropping in a couple of very muscular sounding fills.

Elsewhere, ‘Darkest Days’ kicks off with a dirty guitar riff, before Beth’s drums kick in to push forth an even heavier sound. Although the blend of growled vocals and harmonic guitar work immediately flags up as being derivative of the more accessible parts of the Stone Sour debut, everything is recycled with love, and when finding time for a couple of even heavier breakdowns, the whole band sounds really tight. A little more of their own character comes through on the chorus where a mix of clean and gruff vocals do battle and a clean lead guitar adds some pleasing 80s colour. Although this isn’t quite as epic as ‘Pedestal’, there’s more than enough evidence that HOH are a metal band who deserve to break through in a big way. Opening with one of the record’s busiest guitar riff, James and Ross push for heavier sounds at the beginning of ‘Through My Eyes’ before Daniel lightens the mood with a perfect, clean vocal that allows a great tone to soar above a dense sounding chug. Moving into the chorus, there are obvious nods to a few massive metal acts – with Stone Sour again remaining the most obvious – but in terms of playing, it’s almost impossible to find fault. House of Hosts attack their chosen style with a great enthusiasm and bags of talent; if you’re a lover of relatively melodic alt-metal, you’ll love this, even when the influences are fairly obvious.

In terms of delivering classic sounding, alternative metal, this EP ticks most of the right boxes. House of Hosts wield some really impressive riffs throughout; their abilities for delivering a great chorus are evident on all four tracks, and by being unafraid to drop some very 80s sounding solos into a very 00’s oriented sound, their best material stands a chance of winning over a huge part of the metal crowd. Pick this up for ‘Pedestal’, then explore the rest, knowing you’re in safe hands. With the fifteen minute playing time leaving no room for filler, this is a short listen that comes highly recommended.

September 2025