Cassage de Burnes/Simfela "split" 7"
[Alchimia]
Cassage de Burnes (France) opens up with a weird track of lush clean guitars and spoken vocals, but suddenly shifts into nine additional cuts of really fast hardcore/punk with a crossover sort of approach. However, I really dislike the recording, which makes the songs fall short for me. The guitar tone is way dominant and has a really weird tone, the vocals are heavy on the high-end and also way too loud, etc. I like the chaotic vocal layering, and the actual songwriting seems pretty decent, but the production sounds like a mix between a weird live set and a shoddy demo - it's clear, but just not happening for me. I'm also not a fan of the weird "experimental" tracks with the clean guitars and spoken vocals, they're just too random and out of place, deadening the impact of the other material. Simfela (also from France) plays similarly fast hardcore but the vocals are way more aggressive and the music is heavier and has a little bit of a grinding/power violence side to it. "Metabolism in Ashes" even has a major old school hardcore styled breakdown in it, which I like a lot. Overall I think these songs are more streamlined and focused, definitely making a difference. Their recording is also a little off, but it's thick as hell, and definitely better than Cassage de Burnes'. The vocals sound perfect, the drums are a little thin and overpowering, and though the guitars aren't really heavy enough, the bass tone is immense and really packs a punch. The record is housed in a thick sleeve printed in orange ink on matte white stock. Inside are numerous inserts for each band, including lyrics, additional artwork/text, etc. Most of the package looks nice, though aside from a good number of lyrics everything is in French so I'm not sure what it says. The lyrics for both bands are bizarre and make almost no sense to me at all, perhaps due to the language barrier? Either way, Simfela is pretty good, but I think that Cassage de Burnes is holding them back on this split. (5/10)
Running time - 14:00 (approximately), Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Not Dead Yet, Metabolism in Ashes, Autobiography of a Dead Man]
Alchimia Records - http://alchimia.inc.free.fr

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