Scottish noise behemoths goodhuman offer up a thrilling metal sound that fuses growls and vocal harmonies with technical riffing, and they describe as “progressive groove metal.”
The quartet, hailing from the northeast of Scotland, started out back in 2014, with guitarist Allan Bowes and drummer Ross Cameron staying on board from the early days. But their style of music has evolved over the years and, with the arrival of vocalist and guitarist Kenneth Valentine and bassist Derek Scott last year, the band is increasingly bringing more melody and groove.
On the sound they’ve crafted, Ross told us: “Our sound sits between a lot of genres from progressive metal through to metalcore so expect intricate guitar work, melodic choruses and driving basslines.”
Our latest taste of this is Break The Mould, a reworked version of a track released back in 2020 and the first song with Kenneth and Derek on board, which was released at the end of last month. It opens up with a distant guitar riff over atmospheric sounds, before kicking into a big darting riff over driving drums. Kenneth’s engaging vocals join in and intensify as it builds towards a powerful chorus with clean vocals answered by growled retorts. A fun riff takes over, continuing into another engaging verse that again intensifies before flowing into a big chorus. Another delicious riff takes over, continuing into harsher vocals that set up a final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Ross said: “The reception has been great, we’ve received amazing feedback so far. This is the first song released by the current lineup so if you’re familiar with our older material you’ll hear some noticeable changes. Goodhuman has always had tight, fast paced guitar work and growling vocals but now we’ve really turned up the groove with the bass and changed the vocal style to more clean singing and great harmonies provided by Derek.”
Break The Mould follows on from a series of singles over the last few years, as well as the band’s debut EP from back in 2018. And the older music, with the previous band members, definitely has a heavier edge, including the wild Defiant. But there’s plenty more to come from the band, with another single incoming that will be supported by a music video that’s currently being recorded.
And Ross added: “All music and video is recorded, edited and mastered in-house by the band which takes a little longer, but we love the level of care and attention it brings to what we do. Additionally, we’re always writing new material so expect more as the year goes on. We have several shows lined up this year including a battle of the bands and two full day metal showcases around Scotland.”
The goodhuman sound is influenced by a wide range of music, largely a diverse mix of metal bands. For example, Allan is big into Parkway Drive, Tool, Meshuggah and Currents, while Ross is a big fan of Periphery, Slipknot (all three drummers!), Limp Bizkit and Chad Smith. Kenneth loves a bit of Lamb of God, Within the Ruins, Sylosis and the Foo Fighters and Derek is a lifelong fan of Metallica, especially drawing inspiration from Cliff Burton, and the grooves of Kyuss.
And on what inspires them to write music, Ross explained: “We want to write music that we’d like to listen to ourselves, which is why we pull from different places for influence. We want people who come to our shows to have a good time, so having that groove in our rhythm section encourages people to move, whether you’re dancing or throwing down in a pit.
“Lyrically, we try to steer towards more introspective, positive messages that hopefully resonate with listeners. Themes like overcoming obstacles and engaging with mental health struggles are important messages to us.”
You can follow goodhuman on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify and YouTube.
Looking for more new music like goodhuman?
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