EP Review: 6 Hours to Kill – Faith and Misery: Vol. I (Self Released)

Faith and Misery: Vol I is the debut EP of hard rocking/metal band, 6 Hours to Kill and is out now.

There was a point, when vocalist Billy Osborne auditioned, that everything changed. For nearly 3 years, guitarist Roderick Vesper had been trying to piece together the puzzle that would become the Cincinnati hard rock outfit, 6 Hours to Kill. “There was a clear shift when Billy came on, this was no longer my project, this was our band. Everyone just clicked together, musically and personally. It felt like a family.”

The current lineup took some time to pull together, and they are actually looking for a permanent replacement on bass, after parting ways with Adam Cornell. But the core writing team of Roderick Vesper (guitar), Billy Osborne (vocals) and Mike Schmidt (drums) are locked in now and gelling. They have focused on creating a unique sound for the region and have had a pretty steady stream of shows since their first time on stage together in December of ’17.

Their debut EP, “Faith and Misery: Volume I” is the first of a two volume EP release. It is really the “misery” chapter, so it’s got a little heavier edge than the next volume, which will focus more on hopefulness in times of misery. They will be opening for John 5 and the Creatures on Halloween night and are putting together a lineup for an official CD release show. Look for them to enter the studio in late December to complete Volume II.

Now this is an damn good EP.

The four tracks that make up Faith and Misery: Vol I are exciting, cleverly arranged and different enough to make them stand out.

After a lengthy intro that leaves you feeling a tad disconcerted, Splinter drops moody metal groove with just a hint of grunge to hammer home the abject sound. Wonderfully clean and fresh sounding, the bass hums away leaving you with a dark feeling.

That’s not the case with the following track, the excellent Radical. A track that really lays out how catchy metal can be when given the opportunity by a band capable of delivering it. The rhythm is body-shakingly good, a live-banger if there ever was one.

Paper Skulls is a bit different and the best track on the EP. The bloated sounding guitar strumming, simple drum beat with gorgeous clean vocals is so appealing. Listen out for the harsher vocals adding heavier emphasis on certain words, it’s very clever. After about 40 seconds the rhythm kicks up a gear and the instruments come to life.

A return to the opening style of the track sees a much deeper and bassier beat present and it’s at this point you just have sit and marvel at what 6 Hours to Kill have accomplished here. This is the track you play to people to make them fans especially when it erupts into wild hardcore heaviness at the end.

This is one of those releases that you wish wasn’t an EP but a full album instead. 6 Hours to Kill have *ahem* killed it here and the sludgy riffing of the brutally heavy Black Water is the icing on the cake.

Faith and Misery: Vol 1 is one of the best EP releases of the year and while I normally wouldn’t pick out a song to emphasis at this stage of the review, Paper Skulls is so good it is proudly sitting up there as one of the best tracks I’ve heard this year.

6 Hours to Kill – Faith and Misery: Vol I Full Track Listing:

1. Splinter
2. Radical
3. Paper Skulls
4. Black Water

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Faith and Misery: Vol I is out now and can be streamed/bought via Spotify, iTunes and Google Play. You can find out more/keep up to date with news by checking out the band’s website, Facebook Page, Instagram, Soundcloud and YouTube.