Higher Power (band)

Higher Power are an English hardcore punk band formed in Leeds, West Yorkshire in 2014. They have released two full-length studio albums, with their second album, 27 Miles Underwater, being their major label debut through Roadrunner Records. In a 2020 poll by Revolver magazine, they were voted the most likely contemporary band to breakthrough into the mainstream.[1] They are considered a part of the New Wave of British Hardcore.[2]

Higher Power
OriginLeeds, West Yorkshire, England
Genres
Years active2014–present
LabelsRoadrunner, Flatspot, Venn
Associated actsBig Cheese, Blood Eagle, Fade, Blind Authority
Websitehigherpowerleeds.com
Members
  • Jimmy Wizard
  • Louis Hardy
  • Max Harper
  • Alex Wizard
  • Ethan Wilkinson

History

In 2014, drummer Alex Wizard moved from London to Leeds and then began writing music with his brother Jimmy Wizard.[3] They intended to record just a single demo, inspired by the sound of Leeway and Merauder.[4] The band took its name from the Subzero song of the same name.[5] The pair then enlisted guitarists Louis Hardy and Max Harper, and began to search for a vocalist, however unable to find anybody, Jimmy handed bass duties to Ethan Wilkinson and began singing himself.[6] Their debut self-titled demo tape was released on 1 February 2015. They released their debut EP Space To Breathe on 20 August the same year. In March 2016, they played a number of dates on the east coast of America, including a spot at United Blood Festival.[4] Their debut album Soul Structure was released on 19 May 2017.[7] On 13 August 2017, they opened for Turnstile on their sole UK date of the year, at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds.[8] In September 2017, they opened for No Warning on the Life or Death Tour, along with Vein, Twitching Tongues and Backtrack.[9] In June 2018, they played Download Festival.[10] In September 2018, they headlined a free show at London's Dr. Martens store, with support by Arms Race and Stages in Faith.[11] In April and May 2019, they toured the U.S. is support of Knocked Loose, the Acacia Strain and Harm's Way.[12] In August 2019, they performed at Reading and Leeds Festivals and Two Thousand Trees Festival.[13][14]

In September 2019, they signed to Roadrunner Records, and announced that their sophomore album 27 Miles Underwater would be released 24 January 2020[15][16] and opened for Vein on their North American tour.[17] On 6 September 2019, they released their first single from the album titled Seamless.[18] On 12 November, they album's second single Low Season was released.[19] From 20 January 2020 to 28 January, they went on a North American co-headline tour with Take Offence and support from Drain.[20] On 24 January 2020, they released their sophomore album 27 Miles Underwater.[15] The album's third and final single was released 19 January 2020, titled Lost in Static.[21] From January 29 to 9 February, they headlined their own North American tour, with support from Life's Question, Queensway and Hangman. From 16 February to 6 March, they opened for Beartooth on their European headline tour, with addition support from the Amity Affliction.[20] On February 20, it was announced that the band would play the first Knotfest at Sea, from 10 to 14 August 2020,[22] however the festival was postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] On 24 November, Kerrang! released a video of a live performance by the band at the K! Pit in East London.[24]

Musical style and influences

The band have been categorised as hardcore punk,[4][5][25] melodic hardcore,[26][27] post-hardcore[28] and crossover thrash.[4][29] Their music merges groovey New York hardcore-influenced instrumentals with melodic vocals and dynamic rhythm changes,[30][31] often incorporating elements of alternative rock, sludge metal,[32] punk rock, thrash metal, shoegazing, grunge,[33] post-grunge, funk metal and screamo.[34] Revolver describes their sound as "a singular mix of hardcore, alt rock and funk that evokes Deftones, Jane's Addiction and Bad Brains".[35] In an article for Metal Hammer, Dannii Leivers described it as combining "80s metal influences, lush 90s alt and Alice In Chains sludge, doused in snotty Suicidal Tendencies’ attitude".[32] Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan, described their first album as "’90s New York hardcore and alt-metal worship", while calling their second album closer to alternative rock, despite still retaining elements of hardcore.[36]

In a 2020 article for Guitar World, when asked about the band's style, guitarist Louis Hardy stated "We come from hardcore, but I don’t think of us as a hardcore band... I don’t listen to it and think this sounds like hardcore music. I just think of [us] as a rock band".[37]

Hardy primarily plays a 2019 Gibson SG guitar through a Peavey 6505+ amplifier, while Harper often uses a Charvel San Dimas in order to make use of its whammy bar. Their music is often written with guitars tuned to D# standard.[37]

They have cited influences including Leeway, Merauder,[4] Only Living Witness,[5] Life of Agony,[7] Minor Threat,[38] Maximum Penalty, Alice in Chains, Crown of Thornz,[6] Turnstile, Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies,[39] Jane's Addiction, Helmet[40] and Deftones.[41][42] Vocalist Jimmy Wizard, in particular, has cited groups such as Glassjaw, Deftones, Shift, Less Than Jake and Linkin Park as influences on his vocal style.[43][3] Guitarist Max Harper has cited Tom Morello, particularly his work in Rage Against the Machine, as one musician who inspired his guitar playing style the most, with Hardy also citing Morello, in addition to Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit, as having a similar influence on his guitar playing.[37]

Members
Current
  • Jimmy "J-Town" Wizard – lead vocals (2014–present), bass (2014)
  • Louis Hardy – guitar (2014–present)
  • Max Harper – guitar (2014–present)
  • Alex Wizard – drums (2014–present)
  • Ethan Wilkinson – bass (2014–present)

Discography
Studio albums
EPs
  • Space To Breathe (2015)
Live albums
  • Live In Notts (2015)
Demos
  • Higher Power (2015)

Accolades
Nominated work Year Award Result
Soul Structure 2017 Revolver - Best Album #10[44]
Higher Power 2020 Heavy Music Awards - Best UK Breakthrough Band Nominated[45]

References
  1. "FAN POLL: 5 BANDS MOST LIKELY TO BREAKOUT IN 2020". Revolver. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. Alva, Freddy. "The New Wave of British Hardcore". Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  3. "Interview with Jimmy Wizard of HIGHER POWER" (Podcast). Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. EPSTEIN, DAN. "MEET HIGHER POWER: POSITIVE HARDCORE WITH "SOUND NO ONE ELSE WAS TRYING"". Revolver. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. Gautier, Alexis. "WHEN HARDCORE GOES GRUNGE". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. "Higher Power". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. Morton, Luke. "Higher Power: Hardcore without boundaries". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  8. "TURNSTILE ANNOUNCE LEEDS HEADLINE SHOW WITH HIGHER POWER AND INSIST". Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  9. "TOURING WITH UK HARDCORE HEROES HIGHER POWER LOOKS LIKE THE MOST FUN EVER!". Kerrang!. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  10. "THE BRONX, THRICE, ROLO TOMASSI AND MORE ADDED TO DOWNLOAD FEST 2018". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  11. "HIGHER POWER ARE PLAYING THE DR MARTENS BOOT ROOM TOMORROW". Kerrang!. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  12. "KNOCKED LOOSE, THE ACACIA STRAIN, AND HARM'S WAY ANNOUNCE US TOUR". Kerrang!. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  13. Simpson, Becton. "IN-DEPTH: HIGHER POWER – MORE THAN HARDCORE". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  14. Rajani, Deepika. "Reading and Leeds 2019 line-up: full festival schedule, headliners stage times and everything else". i. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  15. "HEAR HIGHER POWER CHANNEL DEFTONES ON EXPLOSIVE NEW SONG "SEAMLESS"". Revolver. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  16. Morton, Luke. "HIGHER POWER ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM 27 MILES UNDERWATER". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  17. "VEIN ANNOUNCE FALL NORTH AMERICAN TOUR". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  18. "HEAR HIGHER POWER CHANNEL DEFTONES ON EXPLOSIVE NEW SONG "SEAMLESS"". Revolver. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  19. "HIGHER POWER RELEASE NEW VIDEO FOR LOW SEASON". Kerrang!. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  20. Smith-Engelhardt, Joe. "HIGHER POWER ADD HEADLINING SHOWS TO ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR". Alternative Press. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  21. Kamiński, Karol. "HIGHER POWER share new song "Lost In Static"". Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  22. DIVITA, JOE. "Slipknot + 8 More Bands Announced for 2020 Knotfest at Sea Festival Cruise". Loudwire. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  23. Reilly, Nick. "Slipknot to postpone Knotfest At Sea cruise "for the foreseeable future"". NME. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  24. Alexander, Phil. "WATCH HIGHER POWER'S K! PIT SET AND WIN EXCLUSIVE MERCH AND TICKETS TO DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2021". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  25. LeSuer, Mike. "PREMIERE: Higher Power Learn to Swim in "Seamless" Video". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  26. EPSTEIN, DAN. "THE UNSTOPPABLE RISE OF HIGHER POWER". Revolver. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  27. "ardcore Upstarts Higher Power's Moody New Song "Lost in Static"". Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  28. Cohen, Ian. "Higher Power 27 Miles Underwater". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  29. Kamiński, Karol. "Leeds crossover thrash punks HIGHER POWER Release Video For "Four Walls Black"". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  30. Ranjanathan, Branan. "Higher Power Soul Structure". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  31. Connick, Tom. "Outbreak Fest's tenth edition was a visceral, thrilling celebration of the last true subculture". NME. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  32. Leivers, Dannii. "Higher Power: meet the band redefining hardcore for a new generation". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  33. HAHN, BRYAN. "Higher Power are all out of hope in "Low Season" video". The Fader. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  34. Breihan, Tom. "Stream Higher Power's New Album 27 Miles Underwater". Stereogum. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  35. "WET AND WILD: GO BEHIND THE SCENES OF HIGHER POWER'S "SEAMLESS" VIDEO". Revolver. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  36. Sacher, Andrew. "UK punks Higher Power made the first great rock album of 2020". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  37. Angle, Brad. "Higher Power: "You can pull guitar ideas from anywhere - even grime music"". Guitar World. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  38. Morton, Luke. "Higher Power's essential hardcore mixtape". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  39. Young, Nik. "Higher Power - Soul Structure album review". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  40. Morton, Luke. "Listen to Higher Power's debut album Soul Structure". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  41. RENSHAW, DAVID. "The 20 best rock songs right now". The Fader. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  42. WINKIE, LUKE. "SEE HIGHER POWER FACE PERILS OF FIRE AND WATER IN NEW "SEAMLESS" VIDEO". Revolver. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  43. MURRAY, ROBIN. "Influences: Higher Power". Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  44. "20 BEST ALBUMS OF 2017". Revolver. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  45. "Heavy Music Awards Announce 2020 Finalists". Retrieved 26 February 2020.
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