4th full length of this band which has great influence on Polish scene since the decade. 13 tracks of powerful mix of hardcore and punk with their own sound. Hard to describe this, as although you can hear old hardcore bands influences (7 Seconds, Black Flag, etc.) influences here this is pretty “Polish” sounding, witch a touch of harsh punk.
This is the fourth full-length from this longstanding Polish band that draws on influences from all over the hardcore map. Expect relatively fast tracks that average right around two minutes each with a traditional hardcore backbone, a little bit of post-hardcore dissonance, subtly melodic yet dark metal undercurrents, and straightforward yelling vocals. "Brunatna, Czerwona, Czarna..." is among the few tracks that almost leans towards a crusty sort of edge, whereas "Nie Pozwalam" sounds more like a traditional old school hardcore song with fast chord progressions and basic structures, except for the fact that it does have a quick little guitar solo and some pretty thrashy picking patterns thrown in there. Most of the tracks tend to lean in that direction: Simple, but not generic, and not totally typical or one-sided either. For instance, "Nie Bede Kleczal" opens with some total metal riffs that sound like late-80's thrash blended with early-90's NYHC and is by far one of the greatest songs herein; and by contrast "Na Ile Sie Wyceniasz" has gruffer vocals and more of a punk rock edge (I believe this is a cover song). "Oddaje Ci Siebie" unexpectedly opens with jangly clean guitars and sort of clashes with the general vibe of the record before it becomes much heavier, following a midpaced pulse with a consistent flow; but the clean intro to "Kolejny Element" gives way to another killer metal riff which leads me to believe that the band probably ought to fall back on the metal a little more often! "Jak Przedmioty" is then among the groovier tracks, utilizing rhythmic vocal patterns over more of a midpaced chunkiness that stays rooted in hardcore, so there are a bunch of styles going on here. The recording's pretty good. I wish the basslines were a little louder, and there's a gap in the mix that more low-end would fill nicely, but other than that it's crisp and the mix is pretty even. Slightly heavier guitars would probably be a cool addition, but for the most part everything sounds clear and tight. I'm not that big on the layout because most of the imagery is sort of boring, but it's cool that the booklet folds out into a large six-panel insert with English translations of the Polish lyrics on the back. A lot of the songs just seem to deal with fighting for what you believe in and stuff, with more specific tunes covering animal rights, attacking religious fanaticism and greed, etc. Not bad. I'm not floored, and my guess would be that some of the band's earlier material might be a little stronger since they've apparently been a significant influence on the scene in Poland, but there are some good songs here, so the band still has something to offer. (6/10)
Running time - 30:05, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Nie Pozwalam, Nie Bede Kleczal, Kolejny Element]
Trujaca Fala - http://www.trujacafala.com
from Aversiononline.com
