Kilfast "Tragedy Essential" CD
[self-released]
This is somewhat strange metal with a modern sort of tinge and a generally rhythmic and straightforward approach reminiscent of early Machine Head or something of that nature, but not as powerful, and probably more diverse - for better or worse. When I say it has a "modern sort of tinge", I basically mean that something about the guitar tone is really clinical and less than natural, which also goes for the rigidity of the drums, so when combined with the throaty textures of the vocals it almost creates a weird sort of industrial bent. But for the most part the riffs are chunky chord progressions and a few moderately paced thrash runs, occasionally bringing in a slightly melodic lead line or something of that nature. It's alright, but their biggest problem is that the songs are pretty boring. A couple of the parts are really fucking good, but there's not really one complete song that holds its own through it all. Even with songs averaging two to three minutes (none more than five) things drag on pretty significantly and get old after about 15 minutes - due in part to the fact that a lot of the tempos and such all sound similar to one another. I like the vocals. They're really textured and sound pretty sick. I think they could be thicker or blend with the music more, but they're definitely coming from a pretty interesting angle. As for the recording, it's not bad, but needs work. It's heavy, but there are a lot of gaps between the instruments, and the guitar tone absolutely needs more of a natural warmth/density. The drums would be fine if they were mixed more evenly and held in check by guitars and bass (the bass is really hard to make out), though. But the layout doesn't cut it for me at all. I can tell that they tried to make it look professional, so I commend them for that, but it's still a jumble of text and inconsistencies that ends up looking too messy and uninteresting to do much. The lyrics, to my surprise, are largely dealing with antichristian themes to a violent and at times sadly immature degree, lacking creativity with lines like, "Jesus Christ can suck my cock, Deceased Nazarene, I wish I could have been there to pound the nails in..." Were they to increase the tempo more often, clean up the sound, and amp up the energy level, I imagine this band could make some noise. I'm not that into this CD, but I have to give them credit for being competent musicians that do seem to have their hearts in the right place. (4/10)
Running time - 36:06, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: God of the Weak]
Kilfast - http://www.kilfast.com

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