Long time no crust hardcore punk on the pages of this zine. So, it is time for me to correct that mistake and I can safely say that Malatesta are best band for that. These guys are hailing from Munich, Germany. This brand new opus contains eight songs. Lyrics are in German language and deal with inner struggle and battling inner demons, machoism, sexism but from personal side of things. So, that means lyrics are not your usual d-beat crust punk about war, nuclear terror, post apocalypse and similar merry themes, though there is nothing wrong with that. Malatesta play d-beat hardcore crust punk but guitars create lots of melody that sounds so great, haunting and melancholic, so I can say there are also, or at least I hear it, some black metal influences in guitar work, I can hear some Darkthrone in their crusty albums in some guitars but I can tell you, this album contains great songwriting and does not get boring, that means not every song is similar, like it is often case with bands that play this kind of music. This is energy, melody, melancholy and darkness in eight opuses. I would so like to see this band play live, I am sure their show is energy pure. Go check this one out. You will not regret it.
It took five years since Vanishing Values, last full length for Munich crew to release the next full length opus. It would be earlier but due to well known circumstances it was delayed. There were some line-up changes, but that did not stop this well oiled machine with guitarist/singer Bart at the helm of the ship to deliver mighty new album. These guys were never shy in showing their metal roots and this album is no different. This is technical skate punk mixed with lots of thrash and even death metal influences, sounding energetic and really fantastic, at the same time aggressive and melodic. Bart´s voice carries the melody and backing vocal harmonies are great, but there is also screaming and some rough metal influenced vocals that combine anger with epic melody. The example for this could be Virus, one of the best songs on the record, combining skate punk and NWOBHM in main melody which is so catchy and memorable. The whole album is fast and strong, when it starts it draws you into a grind and doesn´t let go till the end. One of the certain favorites is also awesome Shame On You with fist pumping pure punk metal energy flying high. Dead Certain has such a wicked solo that even Slayer would not be ashamed. Lyric wise, Straightline deal with many issues from the point of view of common man, yet themes are important and make you keep your head high in these ugly times. But to me, THE song on this record is Leaders Of Self-Destruction, a wicked mixture of Swedish death metal influenced riffs and epic punk rock. This album is a step up for this band and for sure their best one yet. Album of the month for sure, if not year.
German thrash metal legends Kreator are back with their brand new full length opus. This time, there is an intro plus 10 songs on the tap, bringing relentless mixture of old school Kreator Euro thrash style with more modern metal approach as witnessed on band´s last couple of full lengths. That means fast and aggressive songs to go along with crowds at gigs well, Mille Petrozza´s trademark shouted/singing/barking vocals, blistering solos and catchy hooks and melodies in the song structures. After spaghetti western intro Sergio Corbucc is dead haha, the title song kicks in with a vengeance, mixing melodic bridge, brutal verses and riffs and screaming chorus. Beside all out thrash attack, Kreator also deliver slower marching, dark rolling song in shape of Crush The Tyrants, which you can almost physically feel how tough it is. One of my personal favorites is for sure Strongest Of The Strong, mid tempo anthem with such powerful main melody riff and brutal chorus. This middle part of the album is for me the best with autobiographical awesome Become Immortal, just made for pumping fist in the air and screaming along at gigs, also epic Conquer And Destroy melted my face off. But, the real gem is Midnight Sun featuring guest performance by Sofia Portanet, being a song so different yet similar to what Kreator did before. This is a superb and energetic thrash metal album by these genre legends.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 