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Harakiri | Twilight Of The Idols

Beats the likes of Nile, Opeth and Cephalic Carnage for Best Extreme Metal Album Of The Year
CD, Willowtip

Tekst: Brian McManus

Publicatiedatum: 22 december 2002

Willowtip is showing great promise, taking up where Relapse left off with innovative grind-core. With the releases of bands such as Kalibas, Misery Index, and Commit Suicide, this label is soon to be the forerunner of young extreme metal talent. Heading up the this pack is Harakiri. A solid release has been expected from this band after their previous, a six-song EP, Virtuous Symptoms. Would Twilight of the Idols be the turning point of their careers? . . . Proving themselves as contenders? Here to stay for the long run? Or just another better-than-average technical grindcore band?

So how does Twilight of the Idols stand up? Well, the first word that came to mind upon hearing it was "stunning." This five-piece of American Midwest geniuses lays out a full album of the tightest, smartest, technically proficient and listenable death-grind to ever grace these ears. I am not reluctant to have made this statement at all, despite possibly sounding as if I am over-hyping this band. They are a relative unknown in a world of Cannibal Corpses and Suffocations, afterall. But to follow the band's progression from debut full length to where they stand today, and having time to fully absorb them all allows one to see a path laid down years ago with a future of unstoppable potential ahead.

On the surface you can take it all in and realize how amazing this album is. But upon repeated spins and closer inspection, you will notice smaller intricacies that make this album stand out even more than at first. For example, drummer Kent Hiltz outshines his instrumental peers with not only superior skills, but with originality and choosing not to resort to solely blasting at one-thousand kilometres per hour throughout the entire album. With absolute control and use of different rhythms on the double bass, throwing in interesting cymbal work and tight blasting where necessary, he holds up his own in a world of boring non-stop-blast-and-double-bass grindcore drummers.

Vocalist Matt Reese's lyrics are insightful and intelligent. If you were to judge only on a song title like 'Blest Be the Retarded,' you may be inclined to dismiss them as Anal Cunt-ish juvenile lyrics. But while in discussion over that song's lyrics in particular, a friend summed it up perfectly: It speaks a thousand truths. "Within a childhood that never really ends / No capacity for math . . . / The smiling eyes of a forty year old child makes one shudder and another glad." No gore, no politics, no surreal emo. Just human nature in its brutal, simple form. Vocal delivery also sets him apart from the hordes of other vocalists. Matt Reese is one of the only truly powerful voclists left in a music world gone mediocre. His style shows emphasis and forcefulness without sounding strained or weak at any time. Sounds and great phrasing that weave themselves in and out of the tangled web of off-time music, show a perfect example of vocals enhancing a song, rather than just being there.

Guitar-wise, Twilight of the Idols is nothing short of ten tracks and over 27 minutes of mind-blowing, impressive technical intensity. And again, variety is the key to their sound. Guitarists Chris Morrison and Ben Sandman never stick to one style. While there is an overall sound they have achieved, you can expect brutal death metal riffs, overly technical off-time riffs, slow doomy riffs, and even a short, sad acoustic track. Song structures wherein one riff leads smoothly into the next, despite switching up time signiture and style, is their specialty, and confusing, back-and-forth moments (such as the outro to 'Blest Be the Retarded') come across as nothing too difficult for these ax-wielding mastadons. And not being extremely down-tuned allows bassist Nathan Strambro to be heard — and why not? Rather than just mimicking the guitars an ocatve lower, Nathan actually plays great rhythms and adds a necessary aspect to the band, thus making Harakiri a complete package of behemoth proportion.

In 2002 so far, we have heard spectacular new albums from Opeth, Nile, Cephalic Carnage, and The Crown. But receiving four months of continuous (almost daily) play, and with only a few weeks left until 2003, there is no doubt in my mind that this album is the best of the year. With the progression from Reverence For Madness to Virtuous Symptoms to Twilight Of The Idols, Harakiri has shown a desire and ability to harness new styles and improve their proficiency at their instruments. Overall, it should only be a short time before we can expect Harakiri to be the widely accepted premiere death/grind band and to reserve themselves a spot as legends in their time.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/harakiri/twilight-of-the-idols/2153/
Meer Harakiri op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/harakiri