Hacktivist is a British

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

band formed in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, Buckinghamshire, England in 2011. They released a self-titled EP in 2012 followed by their debut studio album, '' Outside the Box,'' in 2016. The band's second studio album, ''Hyperdialect,'' was released in 2021.

History

Hacktivist began in 2011 when former guitarist Timfy James left his previous band Heart of a Coward. James claims that the formation of Hacktivist was a "fluke", with no intention of developing such a style, but the group was born when peer J Hurley, a local rapper with little history in the metal scene, began recording vocals over some of James' demos. After the demos became very popular online, James decided to recruit a full lineup, bringing in Richard Hawking on drums, Josh Gurner (ex- Sacred Mother Tongue) on bass and Ben Marvin (James's former bandmate in Heart of a Coward) as a second vocalist. In 2012, the band put out a self-titled EP resulting in debut single "Unlike Us" reaching No. 2 on the Amazon UK metal chart within 48 hours. Despite being released independently on 12 November 2012, the band's self-titled EP proved popular in the metal media with

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

in particular giving the band significant coverage and considerable airplay on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. After the release of the ''Hacktivist'' EP, the band set out to tour. This included supporting slots for acts such as

Enter Shikari Enter Shikari are a British Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current li ...

and

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

and performances in European festivals such as

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It h ...

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

and

Rock am Ring and Rock im Park The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the ...

in summer 2013. In April 2013 the group released a new song "Elevate", with an accompanying video, for free download and was followed up in August with a cover of " Niggas In Paris" (originally by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

). A video for their cover of "Niggas In Paris" was filmed during their set at Download Festival 2013. They also performed a live session for BBC Radio 1 at

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

. The band headed out on a UK headline tour throughout winter 2013, supported by

The Algorithm The Algorithm is the musical project of French musician Rémi Gallego (born 7 October 1989) from Perpignan. His style is characterised by an unusual combination of electronic music with progressive metal. Gallego chose the name The Algorithm t ...

. A re-release of their debut EP with four bonus tracks was released on 11 November 2013. The band has shown support for hacktivism collective

Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

, and appear to support "whistle-blowers"

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...

and

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage ...

whom they reference in the song 'Cold Shoulders'. On 4 August 2014, Hacktivist released the single and video for "False Idols". Many references to activism (especially hacktivist collective

) are made throughout the video and within hours the song had reached number 1 on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Metal chart. This release was followed on 12 November by "Deceive and Defy" (also accompanied by a video), featuring Charlie Holmes of

Heart in Hand The Heart in Hand or Heart-in-Hand is a symbol of a heart in an open palm, and is symbolic of charity, given from the heart. It is an easily recognizable symbol in the Northeastern United States and used by the Shakers as a pictorial reminder of ...

on vocals. Hacktivist then toured the UK from November to December, supported by Dead Harts and the One Hundred. Following the release of the single "Buszy" on 17 January 2016, their debut studio album '' Outside the Box'' was released on 4 March 2016. On the 20 January 2017, it was announced that Hacktivist and Ben Marvin were parting ways due to Ben's family commitments, and rapper/vocalist Jot Maxi was brought in as the new co-vocalist. In May, the band released '2 Rotten', a heavier remix of 'Rotten' from '' Outside the Box,'' with Jot Maxi taking more of a leading role than he had in the original. On the 28th of March 2018, it was announced that Hacktivist and Timfy James had parted ways. Following on from this, the band recruited James Hewitt (of bands 'Invocation' and 'Exist Immortal') as their new guitarist and producer with an official announcement made on the 19 January 2019. Hewitt had been playing live and writing new material with the band since June 2018. As a result, Josh Gurner would provide clean vocals following Timfy James' departure. The band embarked on a headline UK tour in Jan/Feb 2019 and went on to release the single 'Reprogram' with accompanying video on the 10th of April 2019. In 2021, the band released a song titled "Planet Zero" with an accompanying music video from their upcoming album ''Hyperdialect''. On June 27, 2023, the band announced that co-lead vocalist Jot Maxi would be stepping down from his role in the band. Two days later on June 29, the band announced that former Borders vocalist Jordan 'JJ' Olifent would be joining the band as the new co-lead vocalist, alongside a new single titled 'Rep the H'. The band debuted Olifent live later that day at the final edition of UK Tech-Fest at the Newark Showground. On March 23, 2025, the band announced that drummer Richard Hawking, guitarist James Hewitt and bassist Josh Gurner would not be continuing with the band. On 28th March 2025 Hacktivist announced their new guitarist Alex Hek (former October Ends) and drummer Ste Cole. The band announced this with their new single 'Bones'.

Musical style

Hacktivist's music is a blend of several different styles. They are noted for using eight-string guitars and six-string basses both tuned down to Drop E to achieve an extremely low tuned, distorted and dark sound, as well as ambient passages and a "wall of sound" production style. Their vocals are primarily rapped, although they also make use of conventional singing and occasional

harsh vocals Vocalists are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative singing techniques have been used extensively in the 20th century, especially in art song and opera. Particularly famous examples of extended vocal techniq ...

. They write their lyrics collectively, focusing on political subjects such as

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

government corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

, censorship, anti-gun violence, unity against oppression and other social and economic issues. The band's music has been described as

and

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

, as fusing

djent Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal, termed for an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. While sources such as ''The Guardian'' and ''Guitar World'' describe djent as a Music genre, genre, some notable musicians includi ...

and

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

, or more generally as adding rapping to djent. They have also been said to use elements of

groove metal Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...

. Their guitar compositions have been described as reminiscent of both

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1987. Since 2004, the band's lineup consists of founding members Jens Kidman (lead vocals) and Fredrik Thordendal (lead guitar), alongside rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, drumm ...

and nu metal bands such as

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...

and

Members

* Jermaine 'J' Hurley –

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

(2011–present) * JJ Olifent – rapping,

unclean vocals Vocalists are capable of producing a variety of extended technique sounds. These alternative singing techniques have been used extensively in the 20th century, especially in art song and opera. Particularly famous examples of extended vocal techniq ...

(2023–present) * Alex Hek –

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, bass, clean vocals (2025–present) * Ste Cole –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2025–present)

Former members

* Ben Marvin – rapping, unclean vocals (2011–2017) * Tim 'Timfy' James – guitars, clean vocals, programming (2011–2018) * Jot Maxi – rapping,

(2017–2023) * James Hewitt – guitars,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(2018–2025) * Josh Gurner – bass (2011–2025), clean vocals (2018–2025) * Richard Hawking – drums (2011–2025)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Outside the Box'' (2016, UNFD/Rise Records) *'' Hyperdialect'' (2021, UNFD Records)

Extended plays

* ''

Hacktivist Hacktivism (or hactivism; a portmanteau of '' hack'' and ''activism''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change. A form of Internet activism with roo ...

'' (2012 self-release, 2013 release under Wake to Reality/PIAS Recordings) * ''Over-Throne'' (2016, UNFD/Rise Records)

Singles

* "Hacktivist" (2012) * "Elevate" (2013) * " Niggas in Paris" (2013,

and

cover) * "False Idols" (2014) * "Deceive and Defy" (2014) * "Buszy" (2016) * "Taken" (2016) * "2 Rotten" (2017) * "

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

" (2019,

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 ...

cover) * "Reprogram" (2019) * "Dogs of War" (2019) * "Armoured Core" (2020, featuring Kid Bookie) * "I Ain't Depressed" (2020, with

Dropout Kings Dropout Kings (formerly Phoenix Down) is an American rap metal band from Phoenix, Arizona, United States, that formed in 2016. They are currently signed to Suburban Noize Records. Dropout Kings have released two albums: ''Audiodope'' (released ...

) * "Planet Zero" (2021) * "Hyperdialect" (2021) * "Bones" (2025)

Compilations

* "

(Rock) Superstar "(Rock) Superstar" is the second single from Cypress Hill's fifth studio album, '' Skull & Bones''. It was originally released as a double A-side with its standard rap counterpart on February 29, 2000 in the UK. An individual release was availabl ...

" (2015,

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

cover for ''Rock Sound: Worship and Tributes'' compilation) * "

Break Stuff Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning re ...

" (2016,

cover for ''Metal Hammer XXX: Decades of Destruction'' compilation) * " Duality" (2019,

Slipknot The slip knot is a stopper knot which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end). The slip knot is related to the running knot, which will release when the standing end is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slipp ...

cover for ''March of the Maggots: A Tribute to Slipknot'' compilation)

Guest appearances

The Qemists The Qemists are an English electronic rock group, hailing from Brighton, Sussex. They are signed to Amazing Record Co., an indie record label based in the UK. The band have a separate deal with Beat Records for distribution in Japan and with ...

– Jungle ('' Warrior Sound'', 2016)

Videography

* From ''Hacktivist'': ** "Cold Shoulders" (2012) ** "Unlike Us" (2012) ** "Hacktivist" (2012) * " Niggas in Paris" (

and

cover; 2013) * From ''Outside the Box'': ** "Elevate" (2013) ** "False Idols" (2014) ** "Deceive and Defy" (2014) ** "Buszy" (2016) ** "Taken" (2016) ** "Hate" (2016) ** "No Way Back" (2016) * "2 Rotten" (2017) * "Spitfire" (2019) * From ''Hyperdialect'': ** "Reprogram" (2019) ** "Dogs of War" (2019) ** "Armoured Core" (featuring Kid Bookie; 2020) ** "Planet Zero" (2021) ** "Hyperdialect" (2021)

References

{{Authority control Djent Grime music groups English hip-hop groups English rap rock groups British nu metal musical groups Rap metal musical groups Milton Keynes 2011 establishments in England Musical groups established in 2011 PIAS Recordings artists English musical quintets