The Host
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | SELF
Music
Press
This Cincinnati four-piece became one of the "you gotta hear these guys" new bands of 2006, thanks to impressive live shows and song leaks on their MySpace page. The Host's debut release, the five-song Receive, lives up to the hype. Featuring former members of Levelnine and Dropshadow (both of whom displayed a more far-reaching, imaginative take on Hard Rock than most of their local peers), The Host make sweeping, majestic Rock music with hints of Metal and Prog. Singer Chris Charlton has some pretty impressive pipes, guiding the band's songs with a soaring, elastic voice that recalls Cedric Bixler of The Mars Volta, while the echoing, cascading sheets of Tim Kindberg's Edge-like guitar-playing evokes the depth and ambient textures of groups like Deftones and Tool. The rhythm section is equally effective, providing a big and dynamic backdrop. The songs on Receive twist and crawl, avoiding rote verse/chorus/verse structuring for the most part to create something more engaging and stream-of-conscious. While inherently powerful, songs like "On to the May" and "She Came with the Frame" have a hypnotic magnetism, as riffs wash over your ears like crashing waves and Charlton's voice sounds like a Siren, with its memorable, high-ceiling melodicism. "Red Smalltalk and the Lava Rose" follows a similar tact, but is infused with a tweaked verse section that takes an almost Ska-like rhythm and turns it inside out. Receive contains some really absorbing material that already seems fully-realized and, overall, it feels far from a first effort. I can't wait to hear where they take it from here (I might not have to wait long; another EP is already in the works).
Grade: A - By Mike Breen @ City Beat
"The Host has developed a classic sound with big guitar riffs and dramatic song arcs." - JournalNews Go! - By Richard Jones
"The group's dreamy, anthemic songs fall somewhere between the modern prog sound of the Mars Volta and the soaring falsetto rock of England's Muse, with touches of swirling '80s Goth and Jane's Addiction on tunes such as dynamic "Sets the Sun" and slow-build "Sleep at the Wheel."" - The Cincinnati Enquirer
"Somewhere between bands like Muse and Foo Fighters you will find The Host. Very good songs, very good music."
"I will keep an eye on them. And you should do that also..." - Besonic.com By Michael Kolepke
Discography
Receive EP - January 2007
Transmit EP - May 2008
NEW EP - COMING SOON
Photos
Bio
Update May 15: The new record sounds great so far. We've got some more work to do and we'll be sure to keep you updated. Thanks to Dave Jerden, Bryan Calstrom, John, Anette, Peter and everyone at Tranzformer Studios.
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Since forming in 2006, The Host has become a staple of the Hard Rock scene in Cincinnati, Ohio. What started out as a labor of love for the four-piece has become an outright obsession.
"The need to write and perform outweighs anything else in our lives, and we work hard to ensure that everything we do has a special quality to it," says Host singer, Chris Charlton.
Drawing on a full spectrum of musical influences, The Host's overall sound lies around the edges of bands like Muse, The Mars Volta, and Queens of the Stone Age. Their unique style and unusual songwriting methods offer a more stream-of-conscious feel that stretches beyond the boundaries of modern Alternative Rock. Exotic verses and powerful choruses are supported by a solid framework of hooks that sink in and don't let go. In keeping with their namesake, song themes range from tales of revenge to restlessness to co-dependent relationships.
Following the release of the Dual EP Project; 2007's “Receive” and 2008's “Transmit”, word-of-mouth for The Host has spread rapidly. Intense live shows and radio airplay, (including a variety of internet podcasts), have only fueled their fire. The Host received a nomination for the 2007 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards in the category of Best Hard Rock Band, and also forged their way to the Regional Semi-Finals of the Nationwide Bodog Battle of the Bands. The Host has also been invited onto three shows for 2008’s Van’s Warped Tour (Cleveland July 17th, Detroit July 18th, & Cincinnati July 30th) and one of the largest band showcases in the region, The MidPoint Music Festival. These high caliber shows have enabled The Host to establish further recognition with a fast growing audience.
With the Receive/Transmit Dual EP Project now under their belt, The Host has started work on their first full length album while continuing to play LIVE, consistently attracting new listeners to their growing fan base.
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