Antikaroshi - Crushed Neocons
by Peter Allison
published: 21 / 3 / 2009
Label:
Exile On Mainstream
Format: CD
intro
Bland and drearily uniform heavy metal on debut album from German-based group, the Antikaroshi
With its distinctly political title, I was expecting this debut album from the German based Antikaroshi to have an equally defiant political edge, much in the style of Rage Against the Machine. Instead, I was disappointed to find that the Antikaroshi have a distinctly cooler and much more subdued approach to their music, which I cannot deny tainted my initial impressions. The opening track. 'Downtown', is perhaps the weakest on this low-key indie album and for me was a cause of my initial dissatisfaction, since given its title and implied subject matter, I was expecting an album centred around the theme of global politics. With this in mind, I found the insipid vocals and plain music on offer to be a grave disappointment. This does not in any shape or form denigrate the actual skill or quality of their music, for Thea’s guitar work is exceptional, and Aroshi (drums) and Ntik (keyboards) are likewise skilled. But I found Thea’s passionless and bland vocals, which was often unclear and drowned out by the instruments, to be disappointing. There is also limited diversity in the structure of the Antikaroshi's music which re-used the same format on several tracks, and this dreary uniformity quickly led to me becoming bored. Having said that, this is not a terrible album, as there were a few more exciting moments, but these was sadly in the minority and were unfortunately overwhelmed by the negative points. Overall, this album is flawed by its weak vocals and limited sound.
Track Listing:-
1 Downtown2 Fistful
3 Pes
4 Sound Advice
5 Contradiction
6 Cruiserwait
7 Baskerville
8 Thin Line
9 Prsndcns
Label Links:-
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de/bandcamp
most viewed articles
current edition
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - Sala Apolo, Barcelona, 29/11/2023 and La Paqui, Madrid, 30/11/2023Anthony Phillips - Interview
Difford and Tilbrook - Difford and Tilbrook
Rain Parade - Interview
Oldfield Youth Club - Interview
Autumn 1904 - Interview
Shaw's Trailer Park - Interview
Cafe No. 9, Sheffield and Grass Roots Venues - Comment
Pete Berwick - ‘Too Wild to Tame’: The story of the Boyzz:
Chris Hludzik - Vinyl Stories
most viewed reviews
current edition
Marika Hackman - Big SighSerious Sam Barrett - A Drop of the Morning Dew
Rod Stewart and Jools Holland - Swing Fever
Ian M Bailey - We Live in Strange Times
Loves - True Love: The Most of The Loves
Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
Autumn 1904 - Tales of Innocence
Roberta Flack - Lost Takes
Banter - Heroes
Posey Hill - No Clear Place to Fall
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart