Metalcore oddballs Her Last Sight have apparently lost Tom again. And since the best way to deal with an abduction is obviously to write a metalcore song about it, today they’re dropping a new music video for »Help! Tom Was Abducted Again«, arriving alongside their new EP SEASONS // SPRING.
If you’re wondering who the hell Tom is – no, we’re not talking about some random Tom from their band. We’re talking about Tom DeLonge, the Blink-182 frontman and a man who has devoted his life, among other things, to investigating extraterrestrial phenomena. Which, for Her Last Sight, is of course a pretty logical choice. If you’re going to talk abductions, your protagonist might as well be someone who already has some experience with aliens.
Her Last Sight built their wider recognition quite effectively on a combination of metalcore, memes, absurdity and a complete lack of fear of looking stupid. Their humor has honestly become almost as recognizable as their breakdowns.
The big breakthrough was »The Fall«, which carried the band way further into the metalcore scene’s consciousness. And if you’ve ever heard that famous »HOPA!« before the breakdown, you know what we’re talking about. Her Last Sight themselves dubbed the track »Greek Tavern Core«, since they crammed a Greek theme into the video and the song itself, plate smashing included, plus – because a regular breakdown apparently wasn’t enough – a Greek bouzouki, used in a way that, for the purposes of metalcore terminology, we’ll simply call a guitar.
Even though »The Fall« is built around totally legit and pretty brutal metalcore, Her Last Sight wrapped it in such a bizarre package that the song practically became a meme that has a breakdown. And they pulled it off without sacrificing the music for the joke – which, let’s be honest, is a lot harder than it sounds.
They kept going in the same vein. »Danny Called Me A Cowboy King« brought a cowboy theme, while »Hit Me Like A Piñata (…One More Time)« took metalcore into some more exotic waters again. Here we got a mix of Latin and mariachi elements, which is when Her Last Sight apparently figured out they could turn pretty much any cultural quirk into a breakdown.
Then came »Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites«, and today the story continues with »Help! Tom Was Abducted Again«.
And yes, if you noticed that their song titles increasingly read like sentences someone types after three hours of sleep and too many energy drinks – congrats, you’ve got the concept.
The new EP SEASONS // SPRING features five tracks:
- »Hit Me Like A Piñata (…One More Time)«
- »Find The Answers«
- »Help! Tom Was Abducted Again«
- »Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites«
- »Danny Called Me A Cowboy King«
Her Last Sight thus continue down their rather unusual path: on one side, serious, modern metalcore with massive breakdowns, on the other, videos and ideas that make you wonder whether the concept was planned before filming or someone just said: »What if we did this?«
And that’s exactly where their charm lies.
Her Last Sight are proof that a band can take music very seriously without having to act like it’s saving the world. Their memes, absurd concepts and unexpected musical detours aren’t a substitute for the music, but an add-on to it – the thing that makes you remember them.
So this time it’s Tom DeLonge’s turn. If anyone finds him, please let him know Her Last Sight are looking for him again.
Though judging by their track record so far, there’s a good chance he’ll turn up sooner or later in their next breakdown.
