http://www.kindamuzik.net

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Onze laatste liverecensie.

Meindert Talma in De Amer.

Onze laatste albumrecensie.

M.I.A. weet wat ze wil.

Ons laatste interview.

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Onze laatste video.

Colin Benders: het geluk van de modulaire synthesizer.

Sk;rl | _Blank

Bits of Tool and Kong combined with the drama of guitar rock.
CD, self-released

Tekst: Ruud van Esch

Publicatiedatum: 11 september 2002

Making music these days is a pretty ungrateful task. Even when going in a direction that takes you to strange grounds, you'll always find that someone else has already been there. To put it in other words: Everything has already been done.

So what's left for progressive bands trying to claim new territories? Besides displaying an enormous amount of technique and skill, a band can make a new combination of genres. In my opinion, that's what Sk;rl, from Tilburg, does. When I saw the band live a couple of years ago, I considered them to be a rock version of Meshuggah. Sk;rl was raw, different, and very much into strange grooves. Nowadays, it seems the band has grown older and their sound more restrained. Or subtle, if you will. Probably one of the reasons they won last year's Wraak Van Brabant contest. You can hear bits of Tool and Kong on _Blank, combined with the drama of guitar rock. Sk;rl still is a distinct band; it's just that these guys have begun writing songs instead of explosive tracks. Tracks like Asa.Foetida and For.What.You.Call.Your.Own prove the band hasn't lost its capability of writing interesting, exciting grooves. To show us their other side, these grooves are accompanied by psychedelic soundscapes and long acoustic parts. Sk;rl take their time. And now it's up to the listener to take that same time and see what to make of this deviant release.