I first heard Horror Show when rummaging through Deathwish's site for bands to listen to and read this description of them: "Raw and emotional traditional hardcore from Philadelphia." So I say to myself, "Wow, I like traditional hardcore, and I'll be going to college in Philadelphia next year, I suppose I should listen to this band." I downloaded "Inconsiderate Me" off of their first CD/EP, Our Design, which blew me away; it was fast, loud, and angry hardcore punk rock - I immediately ordered it. So here is the followup to Our Design - Holiday, a four-song EP that is currently vinyl-only, and one of my main reasons for starting to actually buy vinyl records and even getting a new record player just to listen to this record. The lead singer of the band has recently spent time in jail, although I have heard that he has been released, but due to parole issues conflicting with touring the band probably will not continue on much longer.

The music on this record is definitely a hardcore blast of pure emotion, very angry and biting hardcore. The vocals are definitely the paramount instrument to this band, which in my opinion is the way it should be since the lyrics are what make this band so amazing. That's not to say that the music accompanying the vocals isn't great; it may not be the most technically profound thing you've ever heard, but it is what it is, that being booming hardcore punk rock played at breakneck speed.

Our Design seemed heavily influenced by heartbreak, but the lyrics seemed a lot more genuine than the pop songs that we all dread so much. Holiday seems to turn the lense of the lyrics away from the personal and more towards anthems for everyone who is down and out, with the exception of the last song "Rorrim," which is about the pain and difficulty of dealing with a relationship that has fallen apart. "One For The Angels" definitely had my favorite lyrics, right at the beginning of it:

Been in this daze for days / wind has blown the coldest rains on me and washed my dreams away / pondering if this could be / the ending of my losing streak / I'm hanging out to dry / and I think I've caught a cold

A wonderful EP; I reccomend this to anyone who is a fan of American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost. Although, if you don't have a record player, I'd suggest starting out with Our Design first, which is available on CD.