Hacktivist – ‘Hyperdialect’ [Album Review]

Watching comments pour in shortly after the UK Government had made their announcement that the planned lockdown “freedom day,” set for June 21st, was going to be pushed back a month, it felt like tensions across the country were reaching a breaking point. Given the mess this Government have created, the release of Hyperdialect, the new album from returning grime metal crew Hactivist, couldn’t have been more perfectly timed.

Mixing grime and tech/nu-metal, the UK wrecking crew had started to make a name for themselves when founding member Timfy Jones quit the band in 2018, and it looked like that was it for one of the most exciting bands the UK scene had spat out in a long time. Thankfully, the band regrouped and, after a few banging singles, are back with their visceral follow-up to their 2016 full-length debut, Outside The Box.

Sounding more potent than ever, Hyperdialect explodes into life with the vicious opener “Anti-Emcees,” a track that snaps and spits at you before swallowing you up in a tornado of chaotic blast beats. Of course, this rap/nu-metal thing isn’t new by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something about the venomous display pulsing throughout Hyperdialect, even in the more chilled-out moments during tracks like “Lifeform,” that make this an utterly captivating listen.

Throughout the record, there are plenty of jittery nu-metal familiarities, with the odd nod towards nu-metal forefathers Korn. That being said, Hacktivist are no less potent when they steer their sound into more a grime-inspired direction. Combine the two, as they do on efforts like “Turning Tables” and the title track, where the band are joined by former Betraying The Martyrs’ frontman Aaron Matts and the resulting output is explosive. The grime/metal onslaught ends with the ferocious “Reprogram,” where grime/nu-metal/electronica and just sheer rage combine to create a sound that is as infectious as it is utterly face-melting.

Hyperdialect Track Listing:

1. Anti-Emcees
2. Luminosity
3. Lifeform
4. Armoured Core (feat. Kid Bookie)
5. Turning Tables
6. Currency
7. Hyperdialect (feat. Aaron Matts)
8. Dogs Of War
9. Ultima Dies
10. Planet Zero
11. How Dare You Exist
12. Reprogram

Run Time: 43:56
Release Dates: June 18, 2021
Record Label: UNFD Records