Extreme metal has several different driving factors which keep those wielders of the black flame alive and hungry. Some may chase fame (or infamy), some after money and success, and others for the love of the game. Similar to many other long standing underground, largely local extreme institutions on the east coast, Hubris falls into the latter category. The band has been active since 2007, releasing only one full length but two splits and two EPs since inception. 2026 brings the band’s sophomore record, entitled ‘Acts of Sedition’ out of the dark and into the light. I caught the band at a local Buffalo appearance last year and they were one of my favorite bands to watch that day so I was excited to hear Hubris had another full length to offer.
‘Lightless Lantern’ really starts the show, with their drummer kicking immediately into hyperdrive blasting speed, which is a perfect fit for the frantically tremolo picked guitars and bass. ‘Boil of Humanity’ shows the band’s ability to utilize churning dynamic riffing patterns to keep things interesting between their wild blasting sections. ‘Acts of Sedition’ acts as a display for Hubris’s clear love of second wave Norwegian Black Metal, exercising weapons of speed, atmosphere and melody to craft a statement making title track.
There is beauty in simplicity, and Hubris utilizes that to their advantage, leveraging top notch technical prowess to occupy the full multi-laned road that is second wave style Black Metal while staying comfortably within the guardrails. The overall sound of this record is A+ as well, capped off with an amazing mastering job from Ryan Williams (ex The Black Dahlia Murder). All limbs of the Black Metal beast that is Hubris can be heard at all times and the production only compliments the music that Hubris has crafted here.
Despite ‘Acts of Sedition’ displaying many favorable qualities that a Black Metal band of Hubris’s age and caliber should have, the record is 51 minutes, which is a long listen with not enough overall variety to warrant the length. ‘Pissed on Ambitions’ is a near 5 minute instrumental track which doesn’t feel much different from the rest of the songs with lyrics on the rest of the album, and ‘Call to Sedition’ is a largely unnecessary introductory track that does not take away from the experience, but also does not add any real meaningful value from a holistic perspective. The closing two tracks, ‘The Great Division’ and ‘Outer Space Satanic Torture’ each encroach on the 7 minute mark and despite them containing many creative choices I enjoy, the latter 14 minutes of the B side of this Black Metal record certainly could have used some variety; perhaps a slower mournful track, or some more soaring melodic choices to give some variety and carry the torch firmly and heroicly into blackened oblivion.
Overall, ‘Acts of Sedition’ is a strong sophomore release from these Buffalo Black Metal veterans, but there is some growth I would have liked to see outside of the production after 7 years since their last release and 14 years since their debut self titled full length. That all said, fans of the infamous second wave of Black Metal will be pleased, and locals to the Buffalo, NY area should absolutely go check this band out, as their live show and execution of their songs is top notch.
