Tomorrow We Escape is a salve for the imprisoned; the most intense, varied, catchy, and sharp project from Ho99o9 yet.
Release date: September 9, 2025 | 999DEATHKULT/Last Gang Records/MNRK | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | Stream/Purchase
I’m not big into horror movies, but I’ve been watching more of them lately, mostly ‘elevated horror’ that everyone clamors over and many understandably push back against. I don’t much like the horrors of reality – they’re not fun, their existence means the suffering of people the world over, and any lessons to be taught by them can also just be learned in other ways that don’t result in real death, starvation, slavery, etc. So aside from those, I can confidently say the only horror I look forward to anymore with any fervor and without reservations is Ho99o9.
Ho99o9 (pronounced ‘horror’ of course) have been in my sight for nearing a decade now, since their first album in 2017, United States of Horror, a realized proof of concept and longevity built up to by tapes, EPs, and singles. 2022’s SKIN became my favorite of theirs, an album I wanted to review, but time (and likely motivation) didn’t align well which was a shame because it was a remarkable project with features that made total sense (Corey Taylor) and ones that didn’t as much (Bun B?) but still managed to work very well. Now the turbo Deathkult duo of theOGM and Yeti Bones forewarn with Tomorrow We Escape and y’all… I think they very comfortably outdid themselves with this one.
It’s so, sooooooo rewarding to see artists very convincingly and obviously grow over time. I’ve been lucky to watch Denzel Curry mature and hone his skills since his Imperial days while still repping the grime of Carol City. Bands like Horrendous have made unquestionable waves bending death metal’s old and new together into some of the most compelling music the genre’s ever seen in their decade-plus of shredding shit. And somewhere in the middle of those two disparate ends of the spectrum are Ho99o9, now very much a part of that pantheon of artists that are here to grow, execute on grander ideas, and have some fucking fun doing it.
If you’ve never heard of Ho99o9 and somehow found yourself reading this, know that they’re one of, if not THEE best pushing the metal/punk rap sound forward. It’s not a gimmick so much as it is a lived-in sound that the duo have grown comfortable within over the years, but this decade they have been stretching it to its maximum by incorporating other influences more boldly. On its surface, Tomorrow We Escape is thematically an ode to freedom and emancipation from the several prisons we place ourselves in and get placed in – mental, physical, spiritual, etc. There’s a metanarrative of sorts when you think of how the album sounds, though. What was once chest-collapsing intensity is twisted into different forms in order to fit all the different ways systems of oppression need to be dismantled, because one size indeed does not fit all.
The fact of the matter is Ho99o9 got a lot to say to a lot of people about what they aren’t (‘This ain’t Carti, this ain’t Drake, this ain’t rock, this ain’t fake/…/This ain’t metal, this ain’t trap, give a fuck wherе you at‘) and what they are (‘This is real, get the steel, point it at a Nazi cap/All my enemies eat a dick and swallow back‘), all on the same song along with a very cool Kendrick Lamar reference (‘To Pimp a Butterfly, buncha n****s front of yo’ crib’). “Target Practice”, produced in part by WARGASM‘s Sam Matlock, achieves all this while being cold as concrete with a cyberpunk beat and aesthetic that leads so well into “OK, I’m Reloaded”, a turbo trance and breakbeat-influenced cudgel to the dome as Yeti Bones compares his vitriolic, incendiary energy with the greats with lines like ‘Ice Cube, but no good day‘ and angrily laments the overwhelming negativity that pervades every aspect of life now.
‘I am upset with the human race
Upsеt that it’s no love, all hate
Upset with thе liars and the fakes
Upset that I can’t catch a break
Upset with the roaches and the rats
Upset that I’m stuck in a trap
Upset with the thieves and the snakes‘
Tomorrow We Escape is high on emotion, but it’s hard not to be when it’s your life and freedom at stake. This is shown in a number of ways, like above when the pot boils over with rage and all you have left is resentment at the way things are, but it’s also the more graceful aspect where the revelation of how to inch yourself and others toward liberation of all kinds is made apparent. The album opener “I Miss Home” is gentle in comparison, focused on growth, knowing one’s self, and taking the risky plunge to realize your truer self, a butterfly out the cocoon as the song’s lyrics make reference to. Second track “Escape” is the actuating of some of that, propelling the album forward with spirited, intentional acts that foster life, not just survival, presented with Ho99o9‘s trademark intensity and affection for heaviness.
The variety is all over, but it’s the sonic attitude that fares best in this regard to me. “Incline” takes some notes from The Prodigy and their ilk, bringing their pals Yung Skrrt and Pink Siifu along respectively for a melodic hook and fiery verse that I thought was theOGM at first due to the effects on the vocals. Just like on SKIN, there’s a feature that makes total sense and one that doesn’t as much, but still works out. The first is Greg Puciato on “Tapeworm”, probably the catchiest and definitely the most climactic song on here, teeming with metal extremity and Puciato firing on all cylinders for the hook he provides. Easily one of my favorite songs of theirs, up there with “Pigs Want Me Dead” which was an unforgettable reaction to the tension brought on after a cop murdered George Floyd in 2020. Then we get “Immortal” which features who? Chelsea Wolfe. HUH? Yes, and it works immensely well. On top of dreary production with snappy drums, Wolfe sings forlornly of withered love while Ho99o9 urge unity and community among us, though chiefly the Black community, in pursuit of living truthfully and honestly.
If you’re not into that stuff, “LA Riots” and “Godflesh” end the album with a combined bulldozer of wily punk, the first of which challenges “Tapeworm” for the catchiest song on the album thanks to earworm guitar riffs. Tomorrow We Escape has a method for whatever you’re looking for. If you wish to burn the panopticons of modern imprisonment from the inside, you have the fire needed to make that happen. If you simply wish for internal and personal unshackling, here too exists some ways by which you can achieve that. No matter what you choose, your head will be nodding and, if you’re like me, you’ll be impressed by what’s on offer from Ho99o9. Though we’re not exactly flush with much music in this vein – mostly because no one does it quite like Ho99o9 outside of maybe Bob Vylan – it’s still not hard to say that they’re one of the best doing it right now, and watching them ascend to this level of quality, catharsis, and power has been so invigorating as a fan.
You’ve heard of the Triple Six, now we got the Triple Nine, and just like Three 6 Mafia, Ho99o9 are a multifaceted force to be reckoned with, speaking truth to power while singlehandedly getting block parties jumping with their keen sense of musicality that channels primal states of humanity. We are mad and so we will have mad music made by madmen who are more worthy of our time and devotion than those in power. In order to dismantle the insanity of unchecked oppressive power, you need someone more insane willing to do the work and show there’s no one or nothing above death and people will prevail in all ways that matter when it comes down to it. If it takes two dudes from New Jersey to show people that, so be it. I’m seated either way because Tomorrow We Escape represents the ideals that we all should be espousing in this age of fascism.
A big Rest In Power to Assata Shakur, whose face is used as the basis for the single art for “Incline”, someone whose liberation from our foul government – who’d love nothing more than to kill and silence people like her – came at the cost of being de facto exiled to Cuba from her family, friends, and the Black American culture she fought for. Her revolutionary philosophies and ethics are the type represented by the music here in their own way.
