The Korea
Колесницы Богов
Independent (2012)
What do you expect a Russian band called 'The Korea' to sound like? I would've bet something like kitschy indy alt rock; I certainly wasn't expecting groovy technical death metal, let alone it being actually good. So allow me to share with you the unexpected delight that is The Korea's Колесницы Богов. (For everyone who is not Russian, like me, Google says this translates to Chariots of the Gods.) What immediately strikes me about this album is how much there is going on, even within individual songs. Some songs switch back and forth between intense melodicism to unforgivingly dense chugging without giving you a chance to catch your breath. The vocals are even more diverse. Many songs feature the expected traditional death metal growling alongside melodic clean vocals, and a few songs like go from Demilich-style frog-belch expectoration to hardcore-esque lighter screaming. There's also a fair amount of world-music influence; it's easy to hear artists like Senmuth on some tracks (and in the artwork, come to think of it). What's most odd about this album, however, is that it sounds eerily similar to Vildhjarta's EP Omnislash. The mixture of acoustic guitars with electric, clean vocals with growling, melodic lines with … Read more
ANATOMI-71
Från Primat till Reptil
Power It Up (2011)
Swedish purveyors of crust Anatomi-71 return with their latest injection into the overly congested genre that is D-beat—Från Primat till … Read more
Various Artists
Alpinist / Masakari - Split
Halo of Flies (2011)
Both Alpinist and Masakari have made alot of progress in becoming well known within the hardcore scene in a rather … Read more
Mean Jeans
On Mars
Dirtnap (2012)
Whoa, is it 1994 again and someone didn't tell me? Much in the way Teenage Bottlerocket appropriated the early to … Read more
