HIGHRIDER – Roll For Initiative

Highrider’s 2016 EP really meant business. Within twenty minutes, the Swedish In Flames obsessives growled, thrashed and pounded their way through four almost faultless tunes that owed so much to the past, especially with a root in classic thrash – and yet still sounded contemporary for the time of release. An unlikely soundtrack for the summer, that short look into a world that blended thrash with melodic hardcore and 70s hard rock organs promised so much for the inevitable full length debut. A year on, ‘Roll For Initiative’ expands on those musical themes and results in a more mixed album. Within the eight featured tracks, you’ll hear more of the things that made Highrider an instant success, but also a few experiments that aren’t quite as immediate.

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HIGHRIDER – Armageddon Rock EP

highrider epSweden isn’t short of rock bands. Few, however, rock in the manner of Highrider, Their debut EP, ‘Armageddon Rock’ takes cues from various familiar sources, musically closer to In Flames at times than anything else, while vocally, things lean more towards hardcore. The resultant sounds won’t necessarily be to everyone’s tastes, but so often show a band very capable of taking a few key influences and doing more than just recycling them. On these four tracks, it’s fair enough to say that Highrider spit those influences out somewhat venomously and in their own distinct way.

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