Hacktivist Drop New Digital EP, 'Over-Throne'

In a year that saw Hacktivist finally release their debut album, 'Outside The Box' (get it, it's really good), tour Australia since their Soundwave 2014 appearance and a whole host of other stuff that I don't care to mention as it didn't involve myself or the country I reside in, the tail end of 2016 gets a new EP from the English band - 'Over-Throne'.

This new EP comes with the new single of the same name, an in-house remix of their breakdown anthem 'Buszy', an acoustic version of the Hacktivist/Enter Shikari collab banger, 'Taken' (a version of which doesn't feature the Shikari frontman oddly enough), as well as their cover of Cypress Hill's '(Rock) Superstar'. However, I am always down for more Hacktivist - whether it's on the record or live - I do have to wonder if this release is truly warranted right now.

As a standalone single, 'Over-Throne' is a great new song that the band can load into their live shows. Yet there's not much else to be said about the rest of the EP. 'Taken' has been out for months now and it was a great addition to their debut album, and why it's very cool to see Hacktivist dip their toes into the acoustic realm, the song is worse off without the actual guest vocals from Rou Reynolds. Guitarist/singer Timfy James is indeed great at his respective roles in the band but this stripped back version is... different, and I don't mean the good kind either. The remix was also done by James and it's not half-bad. Not great, but here's hoping that we get more in-house and external remixes of the band's work in the future, as with such tight, syncopated music as theirs, there is the potential for some truly great remixes to be had. Also, the band's Cypress Hill cover is now over a year old, originally featuring on the Rock Sound covers album, the wonderfully titled Worship & Tributes (Glassjaw references are what I thrive on). Now, considering how good this band is at covering songs from the hip-hop and rap world, I'm itching for another cover and the release of this EP would have been the perfect opportunity to release another. I can understand why they may distance themselves from the cover band schtick, but here's hoping that the H-boys have something cooking up.

Oh well, in any case, their new single is kickass and you can stream the song below. And you can pick the release up if you so wish here.