MADE OF METAL: Japan wages heavy metal war of speed
We're not talking about Origin/Braindrill/Marduk-style speed here, the kind that sounds like rocks in a blender set to "puree." We're talking about speed with purpose; three grindthrashingblackpunk metalheads, Jon Chang (Discordance Axis, Gridlink), Matsubara (Mortalized) and Eric Schnee (dude, get a band), playing with enough urgent lunacy to outblast the world's most metal drum machine, whether they're actually kicking out 500 beats per minute or not.
The formula is fairly textbook: Chang screeches, Schnee hammersand Matsubara shreds. Lots of bands use this formula, but lots of bands don't have Matsubara. It's a shame, because this dude is really awesome at guitar. He brings thrash, black metal and, dare I say it, pop into the mix to come up with some of the catchiest, uplifting, neck-wrecking riffs in the land. This pulp-anime hybrid is a metal scene-ster's dream; it's catchy to the point of being infectious but so vehemently anti-mainstream there's no risk of losing your sacred new discovery to the clutches of mass adoration and commercialization.
Chang's vocals are an acquired taste (one of my favorites), remaining consistent in his high, high register shriek; extra points to Schnee though, for doing a lot with a little. His kit sounds as basic as they come (snare, two toms, two crash cymbals) but damn if he doesn't squeeze everything he can out if it. Check out the opening strains of "Horobi Monogataro" or "Haiiro Ikotsu Gakidou" to see what I'm talking about. Also, in a refreshing turn of production, his kit sounds alive and breathing. (BEGONE YOU TRIGGERED, CLICKY, COMPRESSED AND SOULESS DRUMS!) In fact, the whole thing sounds like it was just taped live off the rehearsal room floor, raw like dead carcass. Sure, they teeter on the edge sometimes; the drums lose the beat for a moment or Matsubara misses one of the two million notes, but it all sounds so juicy. Juicy like dead carcass.
I don't know why I love these guys so much. Maybe it's because there's so much love to go around with so little material. At 14 minutes long, HbKCDF ends just in time to deny the listener satisfaction, but maybe that's what keeps me coming back for more. The pacing is expert. The EP rips forth with a shriek and the fist-pumping bass-drum thump "Into the Throat of Berserk" and closes with the epic soloing and intense Japanese spoken word of "Aka." It's the best short story you've heard this year.
Not much else needs to be said. Except, an apology to anyone who thought this was going to be an undercover report on Japan's military resurgence. The truth is that the band is only half Japanese; the other half lives in Hoboken, N. J. Did you know their name translates to "I love speed?" How awesome is that?
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