Hemiptera (from Ancient Greek hemipterus, “half-winged”), according to Wikipedia, is “an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs.”
Hemiptera are also an anarchistic crust-punk quartet from the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, in South East England. Their demo, initially released two years ago last month, really made me sit up and take notice when the good folks at Fiadh gave it a physical edition later that same summer. Or perhaps you remember their song “Notti Nere” (taken from that same demo album) which appeared on Fiadh‘s From Dreams to Living Things compilation last summer?
In any event, just a few weeks ago the band have followed up with their official debut full-length, and as expected, this one likewise has resulted in much up-sitting and notice-taking. Check it out below…
Hemiptera – Demo MMXXIV (self-released, 07 March 2024 / cassette Fiadh Productions, 16 August 2024)
Hemiptera – Until Every Flag is Burned (digital self-released, 06 March 2026 / vinyl DIY Koło, Shove Records, Exabrupto Records, Prejudice Me, 06 March 2026)
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The demo starts off soft and gentle, with tons of spacious reverb, typical of atmospheric crust. A little more than two minutes later, something unexpected joins in the fray with the guitars and drums: almost imperceptibly at first, sustained droned cello notes. And after nearly five minutes, the dam breaks open and the tempo bursts forth; with the addition of harsh hoarsely raspy shouting, the music becomes much more chaotic, just barely holding together. In the midst of all the excitement, the guitars take on a picking style not far removed from a black metal tremolo style, but looser, more reminiscent of — for example — “The Black Angel’s Death Song” (or really, any of a handful of examples of the Velvet Underground‘s wilder, more experimental-sounding stuff).
While the cello is not always featured prominently, it’s always noticeably THERE; the background drones or contrapunctal countermelodies really add to the overall texture and tone of the ensemble. There’s lots of yelling, again characteristic of the crust genre, although some clean singing may also be found here — in an almost Mediterranean folksy style, it seems, although perhaps my mind just automatically went there since all the titles and lyrics are in Italian. Those, by the way, appear to be coming from a proletarian viewpoint; song titles include the Italian words for “labor,” “How my time is sold,” etc.
Similarly, the new album title Until Every Flag is Burned obviously reveals the band’s anarchistic leanings (if those symbols below the title in the demo’s cover art hadn’t already clued you in). This LP features re-recorded versions of most of the same songs that appeared on the demo (although in a very different order), plus a few newcomers (the titles and lyrics are now a mix of Italian and English). Overall the recording quality is slightly more polished, while the guitars take on more of the blackened feel that was hinted at previously.
In fact, I’d say everything is marginally tightened up here compared to the demo versions, but without sacrificing the fury and intensity. in fact, in some ways (vocally in particular: the vocals are a bit more present, and often more gruffly yelled), these qualities may have been amped up a bit. The cello, too, feels more present at times, especially in newer track “Materasso.” Generally speaking, while each release may utilize a slightly different medium, like a different type of canvas or different shades of paint, both finished works express the same message and do so in stunning fashion.
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The demo can be found in digital format here (US) or cassette here (US); Every Flag digital version is here (US) or vinyl here (UK).
Valley of Steel 