Karst "Receive the Void" CD
[Hater of God]
Fuck yeah. I had been wanting to hear this band for a long time as they feature Victoria from Damad on vocals, and this brief EP certainly doesn't disappoint. The music is plodding and discordant with nice shifts in tempo and a blend of straightforward heaviness and eerie melody, and Victoria's vocals are as sick as ever - shifting effortlessly from vicious growls to incomprehensibly sick high-pitched screams. There's an interesting tribal percussion break in the middle of "Lambs of Rot" with some feedback and droning, subtle singing in the distance; while "Circle of Ground" starts out much slower and doomier, using some clean guitars and such as well. There's an unlisted track a few minutes after "Circle of Ground" ends, and it's faster across the board, both musically and in regards to the vocal arrangements. I'm not sure why the lyrics and such were omitted for this piece, but whatever, it's good stuff. The production is fine. It's somewhat rugged, but in a good way. The mix is very tight and warm, and there's a lot of dense texture going on. The drums are natural, the bass playing is powerful, the vocals sound awesome, and the guitars are only slightly muddy. I like the sound a lot. The CD comes in a nice digipack with some odd sketchy artwork that's all in shades of brown with some white, and the lyrics, while cryptic, are pretty vicious. "Comes around, Falling down, Kill us off, Pretty sound, Feast of disease, Lambs of rot." Killer. Check this out, especially if you were a fan of Damad... and who wasn't? (8/10)
Running time - 11:00 (approximately), Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: all three are awesome]
Hater of God Records - http://www.haterofgod.com

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