HOPE? – Hell on Planet Earth

Back in 2023, Portland’s HOPE? released their first EP, Your Perception Is Not My Reality, an absolutely crushing record. There, the crust band demonstrated not only their political leanings but also graced us with an incredible 7-inch that sounded straight outta ’90s crust punk canon. A couple of months ago, the band came up with their debut full-length, Hell on Planet Earth, diving deeper into their craft.

The 25-minute album, as stated in the release, is deeply rooted in the crust punk tradition of bands like Nausea and Stàte of Feär. Across the record’s nine tracks, HOPE? succeed in creating a sonic wall, concrete but elegant. The production of the album is one of the reasons it will drive you into countless repeats. The raging lead vocals of Manda, also responsible for the beautiful artwork in the vein of more metallic ’80s anarcho-punk like Antisect, are the driving force behind the compositions. The songs on Hell on Planet Earth are bound by urgency, clad in rage, and comprised of to-the-point guitar riffs.

From the beginning of the album, with the track “Another World Is Possible,” it’s clear that HOPE? approach their music as a means of engaging with listeners in a meaningful way. The order of the songs plays an important role in digesting the aural hellfire the quartet unleashes. Some songs, like the ominous “Mycelium,” have an instant-classic feeling, with the guitar leads and vocal lines riding the d-beat to perfection. Elsewhere, “Disconnected,” only just passing the two-minute mark, is as claustrophobic as it needs to be, with a dual vocal attack.

HOPE? do not try to reinvent the subgenre or suggest a polished, digested version of it. Hell on Planet Earth is as hostile as it gets, and even its more “atmospheric” tracks, like “Flowers for Ghosts,” manage to build tension and propagate bleakness, augmenting the intensity of the lyrical themes. Rejection of fascism and capitalism, and a fierce attack on the industry of war, rise like black banners. HOPE? are relentless, and their songcrafting is truly remarkable.

While the fantastic lead of the album closer, “Emerge,” leaves a desperate final taste, it is clear that Hell on Planet Earth is a mainstay of a crust album. HOPE? delivered in a great way with their debut LP, recapturing the feeling of crust classics while probably creating a future one. Artistic quality is not a competition, and in political countercultural music, it is often not the main point of focus. It is, though, a moment of pure joy whenever a band manages to pull off creating meaningful and memorable songs while playing ugly music.