There is something incisive about artists who use their music as a tool for political activism. I believe the final product returns to the artist as an incentive, motivating him to keep on upheaving the status quo. If you haven’t heard about the Hacktivist before, you should know that they are an epitome of what I have described above.
It is not difficult to determine the highlight of Hacktivist’s career. To cover Niggas In Paris in metal version is not only brave but also the best combination of what they do best. Guitarist Timfy James was playing in metalcore band Heart Of Coward when he decided to ask the rapper J Hurley to collaborate on something spectacular. Without huge initial ambition, it took them only a couple of years to perform as a supporting act for Enter Shikari.
The activist background is their forte. Rap aggressive attack in Elevate represents the essence of the band. We fight fire with fire\ We won’t burn \ A middle finger for liars that won’t learn was a chorus that shined few years ago.
The Storm and The Storm II from their newest album are the easiest melodies on the whole record. They are the only tracks that are not saturated with fat production, hardcore rap and heavy guitars. Buszy sounds like it dropped from Fear Factory workshop while electronic Rotten serves as a platform for their favorite themes – politics, corporations, wars, religion. Sometimes they sound like the amalgam of Tesseract and Linkin Park, and sometimes they are simply idiosyncratic. Title track should be a single, for sure. It is a power ballade that features hip hop and shows a strong resemblance to The Streets.
Rap-metal label is a peculiar label. Hardcore metal fans would maybe criticize them for it, but Hacktivist are not to be bothered with what other people are saying. Congratulations, boys!
