Single review: Hostilia “Downtown Showdown”
A smashing second single from Gothenburg thrash metal band Hostilia.
The Swedish city of Gothenburg and old-school thrash metal are two of my favourite things. Therefore, Hostilia, a new and eager thrash metal band from Gothenburg, are off to a winning start before I even listen to their new songs. Their first single “Power Out” immediately put them on my radar and now they hit us with two more songs. “Downtown Showdown” is a fast thrash metal track about a car chase in a futuristic city. The track, inspired by John Carpenter’s 1981 science fiction action film “Escape from New York”, certainly sounds like an exciting car chase in a hostile urban landscape. The B-side track “Eaten Alive” is still very much chugging thrash metal, but it is melancholic, Black Sabbath-doomy and wonderfully repetitive thrash. It also has an excellent, short and emotional guitar solo which contrasts sharply with the rest of the song. Love it. The lads in Hostilia are not afraid to go wherever the music takes them, although they have a deep-rooted foundation in 1980s thrash metal. The current band line-up consists of founding members and brothers William Lindeblad (guitar) and Albert Lindeblad (drums), plus more recent additions Gabriel Sepúlveda (bass), Samuel Alnesten Alvarez (vocals) and Ivan Jovanoski (guitar). Dimitrios Olsson-Yaouzis from Swedish progressive death metal band Mara appears as a guest vocalist on this new single.
Hostilia’s new single “Downtown Showdown” will be released on 14th September.
