Category Archives: Reviews

(new post – review) Plastika – Sijamski blizanac

Plastika are coming from my home country, namely Croatia’s capital Zagreb. This is band’s second release. Plastika are playing ultra fast hardcore punk with some d-beat hardcore punk influences and high pitched screaming vocals, courtesy of singer Marta. This is relatively new band in the scene, but members played in other bands before, so they are new to the Croatian hardcore punk scene. Music on this record are short songs, but energetic bombs and total destruction and apocalypse. The lyrics are in Croatian and they deal with both politically engaged themes, but also some personal dealing with demons and emotions. This album flies by you fast and leaves you filled with hardcore punk energy and I must say once again hats off to singer Marta being able to scream so fast and high pitched. The music of Plastika reminds me a bit of Italian hardcore punk bands like Negazione, Arturo and couple of others. They are also great and fun to listen and watch live, so check out their live show if you are able to. My personal favorites on this record are: Moraju past, Prodaj mi sranje and Zauvijek mlad.

Bandcamp

(new post – review) Solfatare – Asservis par l’espoir (Signal Rex)

Solfatare are hailing from Belgium and this is their debut full length opus. This one contains six songs of mixture between black metal melody and at times melancholy with some death metal aggression with just hints of thrash metal here and there for good measure at least I heard it that way. Vocals are diverse, mostly more of death metal growling but also there are some clean vocals on this one and at times shouting. The songs are pretty long in duration but album doesn’t get boring for one second because there are diverse rhythm changes, atmospheric parts, back to aggressive blasting bombardment. Lyrics are in French if I am not mistaken, so I don’t understand what they are singing about but I let the music do the talking, My personal favorites on this record are: Des Monarques Anhedoniques, Sous des Cieux absents, also Du deuil affaire.

So, if you like your metal brutal, but at the same time blackened and harsh, this is the right one for you.

8/10

Signal Rex

(new post – review) A.R.A.T.A.N – Chants nerviens (Maltkross Productions)

Not much is known about this band, except that they are hailing from Belgium and this is their first opus containing 7 songs. The music is pretty brutal and harsh raw blackened death metal but with traces of catchy and epic melodic, at moments melancholic guitar work. Some songs are more epic and longer, some are shorter. Lyrics are in Wallonic language, so I don’t understand them at all, so I can’t tell you what are they singing about. I pretty much like this mix of blast beats, death metal brutality and black metal epicness with some gentle and subtle keyboard parts behind the song structures. Vocals are not your typical black metal screaming, they are rather growling in death metal style, but fit perfectly to the song structures. My personal favorites are Nor Terii, Chants Nervien and Aux Marches Picardes. Good album!

7,5/10