Bay Area duo Hatchets for Hands employ death metal from the Heartwork and Slaughter of the Soul template, unafraid of brutality and willing to embrace melody. It's a hard balance to achieve – slipping too far into either realm can produce poorly executed death metal that never stays memorable or tracks that sound so candy-coated that everything about it that made you clench your teeth in triumph has disappeared.
Thankfully, "Bad Men" won't leave you slack-jawed, nor will it leave you hookless, featuring epic choruses and guitar leads built for humming along while away from your headphones. It's fun, furious, catchy as hell, but most importantly balanced. Check out the new track below from an as yet to be determined follow-up to their Convulsions of a Dying Empire LP from earlier this year.
"Our new single 'Bad Men' is more straight for the jugular Hatchets for Hands style heavy metal," the band commented in a statement about the new track. "Fans of our debut Convulsions of a Dying Empire can expect this level of intensity and beyond on the next record."
