Himalayas are a Cardiff quartet who formed in 2015 and have been making waves ever since. Their early single “Thank God I’m Not You” amassed almost 50 million streams, and their 2023 debut album, From Hell To Here, established them as one of Britain’s top new rock bands. They’ve earned high-profile fans, including Stereophonics and Foo Fighters, and even collaborated with AC/DC’s Brian Johnson on the track “V.O.V.”
Now, Himalayas return with their highly anticipated second album, Bad Star. The record showcases the band’s evolution beyond their indie-rock roots, drawing influences from Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead, Royal Blood, and Foo Fighters. Working with producer Pete Hutchings (Royal Blood, Nothing But Thieves), the album was recorded analog, capturing their raw energy and experimental spirit. Bad Star delivers 10 tracks filled with confident, inventive riffs and slinking rhythms, creating a vast sound and vision.
The album’s themes delve into the “disaster of men” and the self-inflicted problems humanity faces, as expressed by Joe Williams. Despite the bleak outlook, tracks like “Nothing Higher” highlight the importance of human connection, offering a glimmer of hope within the album’s intensity. Bad Star is an ambitious record that aims for enormous musical heights, reminiscent of Muse or QOTSA, embodying what a modern rock band should sound like while maintaining a deeply human core. Get ready for Himalayas to go supernova.