HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES ‘Twisted’ EP Review.

Words El Jefe.

So here comes a new release from House Of Broken Promises. Those who know would know. Guitarist / vocalist Arthur Seay and drummer Mike Cancino have done time with Unida, one of John Garcia’s post Kyuss projects. Their debut LP, Using The Useless was a stoner beast. Raw, wild and unstoppable. Just the way I like it! They have been joined in recent years by Joe Mora on bass / vocals (replacing Eddie Placencia), and they have just rolled the Twisted EP off the production line. Four new tracks (two covers) plus some bonus tracks. I think I heard rumours of a new full-length in the pipeline too. But that’s a different story!

‘Twisted’ is the first of the new material, a classic HOBP tune, kicked off with a carnivale-esque drum roll before the vibe-y bass assault and Seay’s blasting stoner-metal guitar leap into the fray. Great bass tone on this too. For all you bassists out there! Catchy chorus too.

Busy with a groove would be a good way to describe ‘Toranado’. Neat song!

Remember Billy Squire? Had a hit with The Stroke about 35 years ago. Well, HOBP have thrown it into the ol’ meatgrinder and churned out a “revised” take on it. Turned out fairly well too. A lot more muscular and raunchy than the original, but it’s good fun too.

The second cover version on Twisted is ‘Lady Evil’ by some band called “Black Sabbath”. Anyone heard of ‘em? This is Dio-era Sabbath, loved by some, hated by some. Personally, I don’t mind it but hey, that’s neither here nor there. So there’s that hefty bass tone again, and the vocals lean more towards desert grit than Dio’s “metal” shriek. The guitar is also a bit more over the top too. All in all, it’s a cool take on the song.

The first of the bonus tracks is ‘Panzram (Demo)’, which creeps in with a slow bass riff before the pummel starts. Sorta reminds me of Pantera in some ways too. ‘Straight Jacket (Demo)’, they drop things down a couple of gears, and head for some moodiness. Great solo and the vocals are suitably tortured.

The final song is a live version ‘Paid My Dues’, one of the best tunes from Using The Useless. It gets ripped up live too, make no mistake. From the opening guitar riff to the very end, they take no prisoners!

So that’s it in a nutshell. It’s a great release, but it’s not enough! So where the hell is that second full length?

HOBP’s Twisted EP is OUT NOW through Heavy Psych Sounds HERE.
House Of Broken Promises: Site // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // Bandcamp // Youtube.