Welsh band House Of Hosts have honed a deliciously intense, emotionally charged and anthemic modern metal sound that they describe as “Bangin'” and “thicc, sexy and dirty.”
The Swansea-based band was initially founded by guitarist James Russell and drummer Beth Goodwin over 10 years ago. But the original band disbanded and members moved on to other projects, before the pandemic hit. Driven by an urge to get playing again, James and Beth decided to reform, bringing vocalist Dan Griffiths from their previous band to shape the band into a darker, heavier iteration. They soon added bassist Jack Hunt, who’d been playing open mic nights in Bridgend and the guy who ran the open mics recommended him to Beth.
“Next thing I know, I’m getting a message request from a random woman on Facebook,” Jack told us. “I’ve been around the block; usually, any message from a random woman on Facebook is either spam, or trouble. But I noticed she mentioned the guy I know from open mic and, having been out of the game with bands for a good few years, my interest was piqued, and I attended a rehearsal. I wasn’t kidnapped and murdered, and ended up joining the band full time (although, I didn’t realise I was an official member until about three months of the guys already seeing me as an official member).”
The new band played some great shows before realising they needed a second guitarist “to add extra OOMPH.” Jack remembered his school friend Ross Davies had built a reputation as a brilliant guitarist and a month later, the lineup was complete.
And on the sound they’ve honed since, Jack told us: “Take the anger of Slipknot, the punchy riffs and Solos of Avenged Sevenfold, the emotional depth of Evanescence and the singable choruses of Killswitch Engage, and you have an idea of House of Hosts. We like to take different influences in our music… every song is different, but recognisable as a House of Hosts song.”
Our latest taste of this is their third single Darkest Days, which was released on Friday (25 July). It opens up with a stabbing riff that continues with driving drums and intense vocals through a lively opening verse. Big cries of “In denial, I stand on trial” slow the pace slightly before diving headfirst into another big verse. Second time around, a piercing guitar solo jumps in to support a powerful chorus led by clean vocals “I’ll look through the darkest days, I will always be there for you, The sun will shine again, Set the sail for tomorrow’s you.”
Big chunky guitar chords take over and bridge into another verse with crushing guitar riffs supporting intense vocals, before dropping into another chorus. The pace slows with high-pitched guitars and rolling drums, giving away to a funky little meandering guitar that tees up a big final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Jack told us: “The track in itself is a contradiction, which is why I think it’s so interesting. It’s one of our most energetic and upbeat tracks to date, and is definitely one to get the crowd going. And then it drops into the breakdown and the truth comes out… underneath the upbeat and fast-paced chorus is a darkness, a tragedy, and pain… but then kicks back into the final chorus as if representing fighting through the dark to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.
“The lyrical content adds to this feeling of contrast and fighting through the dark. Despite the relatively upbeat sound of the track… it’s a tragedy. It’s about the pain and suffering of losing a child, possibly the worst thing someone could go through. But it’s more than that…as mentioned, it’s about fighting against the dark, coming together, and not losing yourself to the pain. Griff really did an amazing job on the lyrics for this track.”
Darkest Days follows on from House Of Hosts’ intense debut single Oblivion, led by Dan’s engaging vocals and a very cool booming riff through the chorus, and the deliciously catchy banger Bound By Fate, which you can check out in the video below.
The latest track also comes from the band’s debut EP, which will be released in September. “I think excited is an understatement,” Jack told us. “We began recording this EP back in October, and while we’re ecstatic to be releasing it, I’m convinced that this EP cycle is cursed. We’ve had everything from injuries and sickness to buildings collapsing. So, while we’re incredibly proud of the result and want nothing more than to share it with everyone, we’re also praying that the next release cycle will be a little less chaotic.”
The House Of Hosts sound has been influenced by a wide range of artists, from Beth taking inspiration from the punchy aggression and technical precision of I Prevail drummer Gabe Helguera to James’ love for Funeral For A Friend. Ross draws inspiration from Australian composer Mick Gordon, Dan is big into Slipknot and Nightwish, and Jack told us he’s going through a big emo phase and listens to a lot of Holding Absence and Bring Me The Horizon while taking plenty of inspiration from Slipknot’s Paul Gray.
And on what inspires them to write music, Jack explained: “The best word we can use is ‘Life.’ Life is tough. Awful things happen, people struggle through monotony and boredom, working life is tough, and relationships, while wonderful, can also be crushing. We all go through things in life, some amazing, some terrible. And that’s why life is our key writing influence.”
House Of Hosts will release their debut EP in September and are already hard at work writing new material. However, their plans have been snagged a little by an unfortunate injury to Beth, which apparently means she’s no longer allowed to go on holiday or to bottomless brunch.
And Jack added: “Jack: At the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of friends who love playing music together. We take our music very seriously, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. Nothing is more special to us than seeing people relate to our music and enjoy our shows. If you ever see any of us, come say hi!”
You can follow House Of Hosts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
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