I had falling in love with (hed) p.e. a lifetime ago when drunk in a bar I heard for the first time their song “Bartender”. I write about that when they released in 2009 the killer album entitled “New World Orphans” and mention it again, one year later when they delivered “Truth Rising”, their eighth studio album.
Four years might feels like another lifetime, but Jared Gomes is back and he is furious, maybe even more determined then ever. Those wicked riffs, those dub and reggae flavored grooves and hardcore rooted intensity are always refreshing, although sometimes some of them are sound quite familiar.
Hed PE, also known as (hed) Planet Earth and stylized as (həd) p.e. was formed by Vocalist Jared Gomes, also known as “M.C.U.D.” (MC Underdog), and guitarist Wes Geer in 1994 and released the self-financed extended play, “Church of Realities” only one year later.
They signed with Jive Records, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1997. Unfortunately, due to the label’s contractual terms and the disappointing sales of the album, the band found themselves unable to repay the cash advances given to them by Jive. Gomes is quoted as saying “We had these romantic visions of the music industry, and we thought it would be cool to be a punk band on a rap label. So we fulfilled that dream, but it was also probably the worst thing that could have happened. We’ve had offers from Sony and others that we can’t take because we owe Jive so much money.”
Hed PE released their second studio album, “Broke” in 2000. It peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard 200, while its first single, “Bartender”, peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at No. 27 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. They also appeared on the tribute album “Nativity in Black II”, covering Black Sabbath’s “Sabbra Cadabra”.
They released their third studio album, “Blackout”, in 2003 and it peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200, while its title track peaked at No. 21 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at No. 32 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. “Blackout” was filled-up with more powerful, heavy guitar riffs and pounding, hardcore rooted rhythms and grooves. Their aggressive mix of heavy rock, dub flavors and hip-hop with memorable melodies became their trademark.
Hed PE left Jive Records and released their fourth studio album, “Only in Amerika”, on Koch Records in 2004. It peaked at No. 20 on the Top Independent Albums chart and at No. 186 on the Billboard 200.
In 2006, Hed PE signed with Suburban Noize Records, recording their fifth studio album, “Back 2 Base X”. The album peaked at No. 12 on the Independent Albums chart, and at No. 154 on the Billboard 200.
In 2007, the band released their sixth studio album, “Insomnia” which peaked at No. 16 on the Independent Albums chart, and at No. 138 on the Billboard 200.
The album’s lead single, “Suffa”, became one of the most requested tracks at Sirius Satellite Radio’s Hard Attack, while the song’s music video was voted one of the Top 10 of 2007 on MTV’s Headbangers Ball.
At the beginning of 2009, they released their seventh studio album, “New World Orphans”. It was released in three different versions; each contains a different set of bonus tracks. The band’s eighth studio album, “Truth Rising”, was released in October 2010.
In an interview, frontman Jared Gomes stated that their following album planned for 2013 and titled “Ascension” would be released within the first half of 2014. Later Jared said that it will be named “Evolution” and the album it’s set for release on July 22, 2014.
Tracklist:
01 – No Turning Back
02 – Lost in Babylon
03 – Jump the Fence
04 – 2 Many Games
05 – No Tomorrow
06 – Let It Rain
07 – One More Body
08 – Never Alone
09 – The Higher Crown
10 – Nowhere 2 Go
11 – Let It Burn
12 – Hold On
Buy it or steal it, mandatory!!!
We’ve got 8 ass-kicking, classy (hed) p.e. rock anthems with bone cutting guitar riffs and hardcore grooves and from track 9 to 12 an incursion into dub and reggae. Interesting choice, although I would not separate the two different approaches this radically and i would mixed those dub/reggae songs in between.
They are at the top of their game and it’s definitively one of their best album so far. Evolution while staying the same, staying hard! Evolve or die!
(hed) p.e. – Official Site
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