Are you in search of something that is crushing and bleak but has a subtle cheeky groove? Then, the debut self-titled EP from recently formed South West Sludgecore outfit Hursan could be just what you are looking for. Sound-wise, it is a brutal meld of Sludge, Hardcore and Metal, with vocals that have an acidic and vitriolic edge to their delivery.
Hursan – Hursan
Release Date: 11 April 2025
Words: Jools Green
The sound quality of the finished product is first-rate. “It’s self-recorded, mixed, and mastered,” Hursan told us. “It’s a full DIY effort and a snapshot of what we’ve built together.”
I think this is a pretty impressive offering, which is not surprising given their line-up has been drawn from experienced musicians, Jarvis on vocals (ex-Deadfly, currently in Oppress.) James on guitar (ex-Strank, ex-Macarga), Paul covering bass and Joe on drums (ex-Deadfly).
“We’re all fans of Kublai Khan,” Hursan said. “Their energy and straightforward, no-nonsense but deceptively clever songwriting has inspired our approach. While we don’t mimic their style, their impact resonates in our music.”
The EP delivers four tracks spanning around fourteen minutes and is an immediately commanding listen as it opens with Boot Polish Tongue. The first half is dominated by a brutal repeating riff that is as hypnotic as it is sharp. This is vocally impressive, too, with Jarvis employing both an angry Hardcore style voice and a far more blackened one, akin to that used with his work with Opress.
An aspect that does make Hursan stand out from other Sludge based bands is midway, there is a shift to the riffing as it develops more of a bounce. It follows the same trajectory before plummeting in pace and developing more complex twists and turns. But there is still that engaging bounce, all delivered at a slow but crushing pace. A superb opening piece.
New Testament, is one of those crawling beasts that chugs along, ebbing and building in pace. The slower swathes have, once again, that bounce, giving a dark groove to the atmosphere. This makes such a good backdrop to the acerbic vocal delivery, which at times plummets to something deeper and far more dark and sinister.
It is also a deceptively complex piece. Because of the slower delivery, you do not immediately notice those more intricate passages. The vocals develop a more deranged and distorted aspect until the final synthesised delivery of the prominent line across the track of, “If we can’t break the cycle, the violence will continue.” This makes an unnerving warning statement. Another excellent piece.
Catastrophe’s Child delivers a mix of sharp, repeating riffs and acidic vocals, the protraction of which becomes impressively more extensive as the track progresses. It is a piece that commands and dominates your attention.
You also get some great drum rhythms popping through, which add superb punch and contrast. I love how the track comes to a dramatic stop at the end, aggressively letting go of its grip on your attention.
The final piece, Thumbscrews, is very innovative. After a brief but rather sexy bit of opening bass work it rips into an unrestrained Hardcore d-beat gallop, with those vitriolic vocals cutting a brutal swathe through the music. The riffing gradually develops more complexity before suddenly plunging into the doomy abyss where the vocals become angry shouts, keeping this EP both powerful and dramatic to the end. 
The artwork particularly fascinated me. It perfectly captures the bleak, harsh sound and when you look closer the background is actually made up from the lyrics of the EP repeated several times.
I spoke to vocalist Jarvis, who explained “I didn’t want to go too wild with the art on this one with it being self-titled. My favourite detail is that I totally made the bloodstain look by accident. It’s actually the texture of cracked concrete in the background.
“I overlaid an off-white, then I wanted to add a bit of red and accidentally caused that.” I think it is hugely effective and fits the sound perfectly. I love it.
The band describe their sound as “the soundtrack to societal collapse”, and if the world starts crashing and burning around me, this is what I want to be listening to. Hursan is an excellent EP.
Hursan, the self-released EP from Hursan, is out today, 11 April 2025, and is available on their Bandcamp page.
Thank you for the awesome review Jools!