Kalibas "Enthusiastic Corruption of the Common Good" CD
[Willowtip]
Holy shit! On this all too brief EP Kalibas has got a new lineup, and a slightly new sound, as the writing is so much crazier here! The material is still based around a sordid blend of death/grind that generally comes in short blasts, but there's a shitload of discordant riffing with a great deal more technicality and tons of changes and shifts in tempo. Sometimes melody is a little bit more evident, but it's handled very creatively, so it fits the atmosphere of the music perfectly. The insane vocals never disappoint, shifting from cackling screams to indecipherable grunts and growls, and the drumming is fucking nuts... wild fills all over the place. A nice recording works in their favor. The bass plays a good role and has a nice, defined tone, the drums are barely rigid (which works fine because the drumming is badass and you can hear everything), the vocals are perfectly textured and rest dead in with the music, the guitars are heavy but dirty and have a good bite of clarity, etc. I wouldn't mind a thicker bass tone to help fill in some of the gaps in the middle of the mix, but that's a very minuscule suggestion. Everything sounds pretty damn good to me. Like the rest of the release, the layout and the lyrics are also darker and more pointed than the band's previous material, layering imagery that looks like screenshots of some sort of surveillance footage with random number data, fingerprints, and a bony-winged politician with his mouth scratched off. The content of the songs deals with conspiracy theory types of concepts that are likely more realistic than anyone would care to admit. "Retired early and phased out. You won't point when your blood's mixed with the shit. Injected with poisons. Virulized from AIDS to squaline. Particle light beam eyes lock. Paranoid visions coerce to isolate. Induced private coma. Hands can't hold hearts explode." Good stuff, I'm really into the lyrics this time out. If you liked their full-length on Willowtip then this is a must. I wish this was longer, but the brevity makes for a great EP that stands well for repeated listening. (8/10)
Running time - 15:24, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Isolate the Paranoia, Trilateral Preternatural Domination Through World Bank Control, and the other three to boot...]
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