If you’ve lost track of the old school bands who have risen from the dead in 2020, you’re not alone. Off the top of my head, there’s Cirith Ungol, Alcatrazz, Vandenberg, Fierce Heart, Siren…I’m sure I’m forgetting some others. We can now add US metal veterans Hittman to this seemingly endless list. Destroy All Humans is their first outing in 27 years and features 3/5 of their classic lineup: singer Dirk Kennedy and guitarists Jim Bacchi and John Inglima.
In hindsight, the timing couldn’t be more perfect for a Hittman comeback. Their cult classic “Metal Sport” appeared on an episode of the hit Netflix series, Stranger Things, and a reunion set at Keep it True 2018 confirmed the band still had it. Musically, Hittman always strode the line between power and progressive metal, similar to Fates Warning, Heir Apparent, and other acts of their era. Destroy All Humans continues this formula, but with a greater emphasis on their prog side, not too different from their previous release, Vivas Machina (1993).
The title track opens things up in grand, old school US power metal fashion. The riffs are heavy, the drums are pounding, the solos are mesmerizing, but perhaps most importantly, Dirk Kennedy still has those pipes! A handful Maiden and Queensrÿche flavored tracks set the album’s progressive mood before “Total Amnesia” gives us the kick in the backside we needed. And then we head back to prog territory (“1000 Souls”). While this formula can get a bit tiring as the album goes on, I can’t complain. It’s been five years since the last Maiden album and the last Queensrÿche album was not my cup of tea.
My choice cut is “Out in the Cold”. Not to be confused with the Priest classic of the same name, it’s a melodic hard rocker with a catchy lead riff and catchier chorus. Hittman has incorporated these hard rock undertones as far back as their self titled 1988 debut (“Will You Be There” had serious Top 40 potential). It may be why they never reached the heights of some of their peers. The metal underground was quite unforgiving in those days. God forbid you write a song more melodic than Priest or Maiden, for you may be shunned as a “sellout”!
Destroy All Humans doesn’t reach the heights of past Hittman releases, but it’s a strong comeback for a band who hasn’t released anything in nearly 3 decades. And it’s certainly more entertaining than the here today, gone tomorrow NWOTHM clones who ape this sound. Some things are better left to the pros.
6 out of 10
Label: No Remorse Records
Genre: Progressive Metal
For fans of: Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Fates Warning