Utrecht based hatred. That is basically what Guilt is. Founded in 2022, Guilt was founded as Hoerendiesel (Dutch slang for sweet white wine). Now they have changed to Guilt and have released their very first EP called ‘Human Torment’. Dutch based hardcore punk with metal influences is always nice to get surprised by.

 

The opening track of Human Torment is their re-recorded Hoerendiesel song ‘Void Of Pain’. At first, the track sounded extremely raw and had its own vibe to it. After comparing the both, this current version fits the whole sound of Guilt way more. These breakdowns are very infectious and danceable. 

 

‘Corruption’ is the second and longest track on the fast paced EP. The hype-building bass certainly takes care of the anticipation and the rest will fulfill that hype for sure. Having one of the best breakdowns on ‘Human Torment’, ‘Corruption’ will give you that extra filth by introducing the discordant chords and deathcore style of vocals. Of course there needs to be a BLEGH because BLEGH’s are really important in the older times of deathcore and Serge really masters these styles perfectly for the sound of Guilt.  

 

The title track ‘Human Torment’ is very short but Guilt manages to put in so much energy in these 30 seconds which is impressive. ‘Dysmorphic’ is the skate punk a la Bad Religion song with breakdowns. That was the first band that came to my mind when I heard this song structure. The other band that has popped up that could be compared to this, could be a more aggressive version of Stick To Your Guns. With those two bands, you should smack a fat breakdown in at the end and you will have ‘Dysmorphic’.

 

‘Lucid Hellscape’ is by far the most ‘metal’ song on ‘Human Torment’ which does have the question, are they still searching for their sound, attached to it. Since Guilt, apparently, can pull off multiple styles, this one really caught me by surprise. ‘Lucid Hellscape’ is filled with multiple metal/hardcore/punk styles, the musical style of Guilt can go many ways. For me it is obvious that Guilt haven’t (really) found their sound yet where they want to continue with. Which is absolutely no issue at all since they are such a young band which formed like 7 months ago. However, when you can pull off such a weird song as ‘Lucid Hellscape’, you know you have something going on where you can build a sound where you can pull crowds with. 

 

Over all, Guilt has proven me that they have the will and ambition to look further than the regular hardcore punk band that used 4 chords and gangvocals. Not that there's anything wrong with that but Guilt are ready to provide Utrecht and the rest of The Netherlands with their interesting and promising sound that will evolve into more hardcore metal core punk delight.