Lost "Fear" LP
[Schandmaul/Malarie]
Fuck yeah... this is incredible. I picked up this LP after reading an interview with the band and finding out that the vocalist used to be in Homomilitia, and this is fucking devastatingly heavy hardcore/punk with a massive metal influence going on. The tracks tend to be moderately paced to slow with crushing chord progressions, hard hitting drum fills, throbbing basslines, and vicious female vocals that are generally midrange screams. Their writing is definitely on the darker, heavier side of the spectrum, and it's so fucking powerful... I figured this would be good, but I had no idea it would be this good. There's not a ton of variety, they sway the tempos a little here and there, and at times there's a hint of melody, but for the part it's just intense chord progressions delivering a nonstop attack. "Jak Dlugo Jeszcze?" uses a bit more of a driving tempo, but it's still balanced with completely massive slower rhythms, while "Wiara" is a perfect example of how much impact this band can unleash with a simple, slow composition... crunching along with every instrument in perfect synch. "Imprisoned" opens with some eerie feedback driven by bass before quickly reverting to colossal rhythms and then switching up to a much faster and more involved chord progression with an air of dissonance to it - definitely standing out from the other tracks. Probably the most traditionally "hardcore" sounding track is "Cykl Ludzkosci", but again the faster and less metallic chords don't last for too long. They also drop a cover of 13's "Wither", which sounds great, of course. I love this because it's not 100% original, but I can't accurately compare them to anyone. They don't really have the same feel as a lot of the bands that kind of lean in this direction. The recording is fucking perfect, too. The drums are thick and resonant, the bass tone is well rounded and adds density while also acting as its own instrument, the guitars are heavy and the distortion controlled, and the vocals are placed right in with the music, fighting towards the front when necessary. Awesome. The layout is minimal but effective, using lots of black space and images of crows (sometimes tinted blue), with similar artwork on the inner sleeve along with some band photos and all of the lyrics. The lyrics are a mix of Polish and English, but all of the songs are translated into both languages on the inner sleeve. Most of the lyrics are pretty bleak personal accounts, at times getting more political with some reflections on the pitfalls of religion, war, violence, etc. "In the world of sadness I stand alive, Alone without hope for any tomorrow..." There's also a huge four-panel poster inside, which is a nice addition. This is an awesome LP. I definitely need to track down their 7" now. I haven't heard that many hardcore/punk bands from Poland, but this is top notch material. Highly recommended. (8/10)
Running time - 42:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Zmierzch, Wiara, Imprisoned, Inni My]
Schandmaul Records - http://www.schandmaulrecords.de

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