Single Review: Humans of the Wild

Humans of the Wild is the first single from Wellington rock band, Planet Hunter, off their upcoming album Moscovium. I profess to not having heard of Planet Hunter before, they are self-described as having a small but dedicated following in Wellington’s heavy rock scene. So, I first dived into their 2019 EP release for comparison, it’s pretty sweet, with Celestial Tongue the standout. Let’s crack on then!

Wicked heavy start to the song and definitely a step up in production from their last outing. Instantly I know that I’m Planet Hunter’s target audience, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots – with grungey, fuzzed out bass and gats, nice!

Vocals are really cool, I love a bit of lo-fi distortion, akin to Chris Cornell/Layne Staley/Kurt Cobain/Maynard James Keenan, all fkn’ awesome frontpeople. There’s a great tempo change mid-track with increased speed and then opens right up to really soar with a vocal roar. The interplay with guitar and screaming vox works excellently, now I’m getting those Tool vibes.

There’s all the right noise when the band cranks up the pace, an ominous rumbling and yet it’s still very melodic. There’s a simple but effective down scale to regroup and reset to the original time signature, very powerful, and I bet these lads smash it on the live stage.

For me, the drums feel a little far back in the distance, but then I did crank volume on the studio speakers more than usual, so perhaps the whole track could do with some oomph.

Planet Hunter have definitely given us a strong offering for their first single. Humans of the Wild is a heavy, riff laden, raw and energetic beast of a song… I’m hungry for more!