why would you avoid them? "Monuments To Thieves" is a classic for the genre.
Really? I don't hear it talked about as much as "Arise!", "Police Bastard" or "Soul Scars". Even "Heading For Internal Darkness" and "A Holocaust In Your Head" are more prolific.
HHIG combines the melodic sensibilities of a Hydrahead or Deathwish type metalcore/hardcore band with grind and crust elements. I really don't like those two elements together, they contrast too much. Discordance Axis/Gridlink, Integrity, and Extreme Noise Terror were the only good punk related bands on any of those labels. Sooo much copycat hardcore it's just annoying.
HHIG doesn't have ugly melody either, for me it's more saccharine. Crust needs a dirty, loose edge that the polished nature of HHIG doesn't have. I actually don't like Deviated Instinct! But I feel that they're important enough that they should be investigated by any crust fan.
For the record, Crass is worthy. Don't like the chick singer much though.