EKTOMORF - review added 13th December 2010
Album Review: Redemption (2010)
For fans of: Groove Metal... and Sepultura Vs. Slipknot
Hungarian band Ektomorf - Zoltán Farkas on vocals and guitar, Zsabolcs Murvai on bass, Tamás Schrottner on guitar, and Gergeley Tarin on drums - formed back in 1993 in the small city of Mezökovacsháza near the Romanian border. Zoltán is the only remaining founder member.
"Redemption", as has been the case with the last few Ektomorf albums, was produced by Danish desk-master Tue Madsen. The writing, mostly handled by Zoltán, looks into his gypsy background and the racism and prejudices he faced - with lyrics that deal with discrimination and anger, and the will to survive.
The sound is heavy in the same way as lead and tungsten. Get this album pumping out through some big enough speakers and it'll crush everything in its path. leaving little more than a gooey smear. The guitars are downtuned so much It's a wonder the sound is audible. There's a definite nod to vintage Sepultura in the sound - that trad-folksy-music-meets-metal vibe is there in abundance. I'm thinking loose rhythms, unusually tribal drums and, well, pretty much the whole of Chaos A.D.. Early Slipknot makes an appearance too on occasions. In fact it's often hard to know whether you are still listening to an Eastern European band.
Good:
Some of the guitar tones are off the scale. This has got to be one of the rawest, heaviest albums I've heard this year. There's plenty of pent-up aggression in the singing, so if you want an album that'll act as a soundtrack to punching walls and screaming your lungs out, this is the one for you. Analyse the album on a purely technical basis and it's very inconsistent...but from an emotional point of view Ektomorf have created a monster. You can hear the passion behind every word, string pluck and drum beat. This is a band with heart, not just eyes for a fatter wallet.
Not So Good:
The vocals have plenty of angst, but they aren't always that great when it comes to tone or pronunciation. That won't be a problem for a lot of people, but it's something to keep in mind. Much of the music comes across as derivative from a style point of view. I appreciate that it gets harder as time moves on to be wholly original, but parts of "Redemption" sound like outtakes from the "Iowa" sessions.
The Songs:
Best moments include the cataclysmic opener 'Last Fight', the Slayer-esque 'God Will Cut You Down', the more-Slipknot-than-Slipknot 'Stay Away', the weapons-grade 'Revolution', and the utterly speaker melting 'Cigany'.
In Summation:
Heavy, loud and rather splendid. Ektomorf don't chase popularity by being likeable. They do it by making you too scared to hate them. Crude, but very effective.
Entertainment/Enjoyment:
Musicianship:
Vocals:
Song Writing:
Production:
Overall:
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
01. Last Fight
02. Redemption
03. I'm In Hate
04. God Will Cut You Down
05. Stay Away
06. Never Should
07. Sea Of My Misery
08. The One (feat. Danko Jones)
09. Revolution
10. Cigany
11. Stigmatized
12. Anger
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Ektomorf | MySpace | Facebook
