HMLTD are a British

art punk Art punk, or artcore, is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and ...

band from London, formed in 2015. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Henry Spychalski, guitarist Duc Peterman, bassist Nico Mohnblatt, drummer Achilleas Sarantaris and keyboardist Seth Evans. On 7 February 2020, they released their debut album, ''West of Eden''. On 7 April 2023, they released their second album, '' The Worm''.

History

HMLTD was formed in London as Happy Meal Ltd. in early 2015. Singer Henry Spychalski was born and raised in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

before moving to London. Spychalski met Duc, who had played in a band with Nico in Paris, at a bar in London, which helped foster a friendship and the formation of the band. James originates from

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and shared a house in

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

with friends, including Henry. Zac, from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, met Duc through

Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...

and "less vile corners" of

4chan 4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from video games and television to literature, cooking, weapons, mu ...

, and Vincent from Hong Kong; when he returned home in late 2015, he was replaced by Achilleas, originally from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Late in 2019, Zac left the band to focus on his education. He was replaced by Seth Evans, former keyboardist for band

Black Midi Black Midi (stylised as black midi) were an English Band (rock and pop), rock band from London, formed in 2017. Their most recent line-up consisted of lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Geordie Greep and Cameron Picton, along with drumme ...

and a friend of the band who they met in London. On 20 July 2018, HMLTD released their debut EP, ''Hate Music Last Time Delete''. On 7 February 2020, HMLTD released their debut studio album ''

West of Eden ''West of Eden'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American writer Harry Harrison. Overview In the parallel universe of this novel, Earth was not struck by an asteroid 65 million years before the present. Consequently, the Cretaceous–Pa ...

''. On 7 April 2023, HMLTD released their second album, ''The Worm''.

Musical style and imagery

Critics have categorized HMLTD's music as

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

and

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

. Their image and sound can be seen as influenced by the Ziggy Stardust era of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and the

New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

period in the 1980s. Their sound has been compared to various acts, such as

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

and

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

. They have also been regarded as

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

for their infusion of EDM and experimental pop with their guitar-oriented sound. HMLTD has been criticised for using queer and/or

gender-bender A gender bender is a person who dresses up and presents themselves in a way that defies societal expectations of their gender, especially as the opposite sex. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. The concept of gender ...

aesthetics as heterosexual men, including

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

, make-up, and flamboyant performances. According to Spychalski, the band is "trying to challenge toxic masculinity, and we’re doing that from the perspective we can do that from, as the human beings we were born into being, which is predominantly straight cis men. But I don’t think having that role should exclude or prohibit you from taking on that political perspective and from taking on what is probably the most violent, toxic, cruel force in our society. We learn from queer methods and always try to express that indebtedness."

Members

Current members * Henry Spychalski – vocals (2015–present) * Duc Peterman – guitar (2015–present) * Nicolas Mohnblatt – bass, keyboards (2015–present) * Achilleas Sarantaris – drums (2015–present) * Seth Evans – keyboards – (2021–present) Former members * Zacharie Cazes – keyboards (2015–2019) * James Donovan – guitar (2015–2022)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2020) *'' The Worm'' (2023)

EPs

*''Hate Music Last Time Delete'' (2018) *''Don't Leave Me'' (2021)

Singles

*"Stained" / "Is This What You Wanted?" (2016) *"To The Door" / "Music!" (2017) *"Satan, Luella & I" / "Kinkakuji" (2017) *"Death Drive" (2018) *"Flex" (feat. Xvoto.Delete) (2018) *"LOADED" (2019) *"The West Is Dead" (2019) *"Why?" (2019) *"Blank Slate" (2020) *"Wyrmlands" (2023) *"The End Is Now" (2023) * "The Worm" (2023) * “Days” (2023)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2015 English glam rock groups English pop rock music groups RCA Records artists 2015 establishments in England