SiM - HOOMAN AFTER ALL
- Samuel Stevens
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
There’s something inherently satisfying about a band returning to the sounds that shaped them—not by simply recreating the past, but by dragging those influences into the present and setting them on fire. On HOOMAN AFTER ALL, Japanese “Reggae PUNX” outfit SiM do exactly that. Their seventh studio album, out September 2, 2026, via UNFD, is a celebration of the late ’90s and early 2000s rock era, but rather than functioning as a nostalgia exercise, it feels like SiM taking everything they loved about that period and running it through their own genre-defying machinery.
The result is an album that is aggressive, catchy, rhythmic, occasionally ridiculous, and unmistakably SiM.
Following 2023’s PLAYDEAD, HOOMAN AFTER ALL finds the band sounding particularly confident in their ability to exist between worlds. Metalcore, alternative metal, hardcore, reggae, ska, and punk aren't treated as separate lanes here. They're ingredients in the same combustible formula. The guitars hit with the weight of early-2000s nu-metal, the rhythms frequently swing with a reggae or ska bounce, and MAH remains equally comfortable snarling, shouting, crooning and commanding a crowd.
The album gets its mission statement almost immediately with “FiVE TiMES DEAD (by my wallet),” an appropriately chaotic introduction that establishes the record’s combination of heaviness and irreverence. SiM have never been particularly interested in playing things safe, and the album's opening moments make that abundantly clear.
“BLiNDEYES” featuring Yukina of HANABIE. is even more ferocious. Built around MAH’s furious declaration that “your apology won’t fix this anymore,” the track benefits enormously from Yukina’s presence. Her vocals provide the perfect counterattack, turning the song into a combustible back-and-forth that practically begs to be experienced from inside a mosh pit.
Then comes “DALALA,” a track that demonstrates one of SiM’s greatest strengths: their ability to make something heavy incredibly memorable. Even when the guitars are pounding, and the rhythm section is going full throttle, there is always a hook lurking somewhere. That balance between accessibility and aggression is central to SiM’s identity, and HOOMAN AFTER ALL repeatedly proves just how well they understand it.
“HOLD MY BEER” keeps the momentum moving, while “Karen’s Son” adds another dimension to the album's sonic palette. But it’s “The Sniffing Cats Ska” featuring HEY-SMITH where SiM fully embrace their punk and ska roots. The collaboration feels completely natural, with the track injecting an infectious dose of brass-driven energy into an album already overflowing with movement.
The title track, “HOOMAN AFTER ALL,” sits at the heart of the entire record and injects the record with a little humour. However, it ultimately feels like a summation of the album's philosophy: humans remain messy, contradictory and imperfect, and perhaps the best response is to embrace the chaos rather than pretend otherwise. SiM's music has always carried a sense of rebellion, but there is also an underlying sense of community in what they do as well. Their songs may hit hard, but they are designed to bring people together too.
“GHOST iN TOKYO” pushes deeper into the album's darker alternative-metal territory, while “ZiON” featuring Masato Hayakawa of coldrain is another obvious highlight. Masato’s unmistakable vocal presence complements MAH beautifully, giving the song the kind of explosive collaborative chemistry that makes guest appearances feel essential rather than ornamental.
“BLACK SUBMARiNE” continues the descent into heavier waters, while also incorporating some hip-hop elements into the fold before “FREEZE ME UP” arrives as one of the album's most immediately recognizable moments. Already familiar as the opening sequence for the anime BLACK TORCH, the track carries the cinematic scale you'd expect from an anime theme while remaining firmly rooted in SiM’s muscular rock sound.
MAH has described the song as an attempt to express the BLACK TORCH universe through sound and words, and that ambition comes through. There's a sense of forward motion and adventure baked into the track, making it a natural fit for a story involving ninjas, supernatural forces, and a mysterious black cat with world-changing powers.
The album closes with “Sailing On,” an appropriately evocative final statement. After an album this relentlessly energetic and equally eccentric, the title itself feels almost like a promise: SiM aren't looking backward. They're taking the influences that helped shape them and sailing forward with them. And that's ultimately what makes HOOMAN AFTER ALL work so well.
The late ’90s and early 2000s influence is everywhere. You can hear echoes of the nu-metal explosion, the melodic instincts of alternative rock, the rhythmic experimentation of reggae and ska, and the raw attitude of punk. But SiM aren't interested in cosplay. They're not attempting to convince listeners that it's 2002 again. Instead, they filter those sounds through nearly two decades of their own evolution.
That distinction is important. SiM began in Shonan, Kanagawa, in 2004, carrying influences that stretched from Nirvana and Muse to Sublime and punk. Over the years, that foundation expanded into something considerably more ambitious. Their rise from Japan's underground rock scene to international stages—and eventually to global anime-fueled recognition through songs such as “The Rumbling” and “UNDER THE TREE”—has given them a unique perspective on heavy music. HOOMAN AFTER ALL feels like the culmination of that journey so far.
The guest appearances reinforce the album's sense of community. HANABIE.'s Yukina, coldrain's Masato, and HEY-SMITH don't simply appear for novelty value; each collaboration highlights a different corner of SiM's musical personality. Meanwhile, the band's core lineup remains locked in throughout, with guitar, bass, and drums providing the muscular foundation underneath MAH's endlessly charismatic presence.
Most importantly, SiM understand that heaviness doesn't have to mean sacrificing melody. MAH has spoken about wanting SiM to be “heavy without being ‘too’ heavy,” and HOOMAN AFTER ALL might be the clearest demonstration of that philosophy yet. These songs can hit with the force of metalcore while still being instantly memorable. They can be abrasive without becoming inaccessible. They can be ridiculous without losing their musical focus.
That balance is SiM's secret weapon. HOOMAN AFTER ALL may be a tribute to the prime era of rock, but it never sounds trapped in that era. It is nostalgic without being retro, heavy without becoming exhausting, and eclectic without ever feeling directionless. Above all, it sounds like a band that knows exactly what it wants to be.
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