|
Artist: Ektomorf |
|
|
Hungary’s
answer to Soulfly (well, anything Mr. Cavalera has ever done, really),
Ektomorf have always sounded more Brazil than Budapest and once again,
vocalist Zoltan Farkas is doing his finest Max impression for us all.
That’s not to say you should dismiss Ektomorf as mere clones with
nothing to offer however. This band do have some cracking mosh-pit
anthems in their repertoire, none more so than album opener “Rat
War”, a bouncy party tune that will no doubt go down a storm in
rock clubs everywhere – imagine Soulfly meets Andrew W.K. if you can.
The album continues with “Nothing Left” and the album’s
title track “What Doesn’t Kill Me...” – two raucous
call-to-arms songs that will no doubt get everyone’s fists pumping
when the band hit the festival circuit in the summer.
“Revenge to All” is
a great song with a monster of a riff that defies you not to jump up and
down like a lunatic, much like “Love and Live”, the latter a
life-affirming statement of intent, the song tells of a passion for
one’s belief and the fight for that belief against any obstacle that
may be thrown in front of you, the sort of aggressive, yet positive song
that’s often found in the hardcore scene. And while it may come
off as a little cheesy and over-the-top, metal does occasionally need
songs like these to remind people that you can take charge of your own
life and make something of it and it’s through this message of
self-belief that metal gets it reputation for its role as a potentially
cathartic tool in a lot of people’s lives which can only be a good
thing. Much like their
Brazilian heroes, Ektomorf don’t deviate too much when it comes to
their lyrical inspirations and this can occasionally (as Soulfly have
discovered) work to their detriment. Aggression, redemption,
pride, self-affirmation are all themes that run constant throughout this
album and the listener may be forgiven for getting the impression that,
by track no. 9, the songs have started to run into one another.
However, it seems as though Ektomorf were fully prepared for such a
predicament and on “Sick of it All” they throw us a
curve-ball in the form of a guest appearance by a rapper whose identity
remains unknown. And while it’s far from the best performance,
it does serve to breathe new life into what perhaps would’ve been just
another Ektomorf song. As the album draws to
a close, we’re set right back on track with “It’s Up to You” and
“Breed The Fire” – two furious head-bangers built for the
mosh-pit and “Scream” which is an absolute chug-fest of riffs
that even the sludgiest of metal bands would be proud of. Alas,
there are some great songs on here but their lack of variety on record
does hinder them somewhat as will the obvious ‘Cavalera-clones’
comments sure to come their way. There’s no doubt though that
Ektomorf would be an awesome band to watch live, particularly at a
festival and that if you’re a metal fan then this record is definitely
worth a listen, you just may only want to keep a few of the tracks on
the I-Pod though. Best tracks – “Rat
War”, “Love and Live”, “Breed The Fire” Review by: Adam G |
|
|
Tracklisting: 1. Rat
War
|
|
|
All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
|