Konkeror
The Abysmal Horizons ()
Wydane przez Lacerated Enemy RecordsRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Kunal Choksi9
Konkeror is a new Death Metal band from US and it’s doing something that no one has been able to achieve in years. It’s creating a mix of old school music and modern music and somehow keeping it fresh. In other words, it’s forward-thinking. It helps that it’s also melodic in parts so you don’t have something that’s too contrived but something luxurious, to use a special word. Or extravagant. Lacerated Enemy Records did justice to it by re-releasing it this year with a bright artwork that could hurt your eyes. Thank god for that.
I can’t think of any Death Metal bands from US that have managed to do something with such poise. It’s so confident that it’s hard to believe it’s only the band’s full length debut. Originally released in 2012, "The Abysmal Horizons" went under the radar of most. Going by the music, it’s perplexing because it’s hard to firmly categorize the band. US Death Metal is dominated by a dime a dozen Brutal Death Metal bands, none with the finesse or melodic sensibility of Konkeror. And this is devoid of the Groove/Metalcore breakdowns, if that’s what you are afraid of. Yet it’s not something that sounds dated or something that would belong in the generic mid-‘90s Death Metal category. That said, bands like Monstrosity come to mind, but nothing as melodic. It’s like a marriage between the riffy US Death Metal bands like that and something more Finnish. That’s the best comparison that could be made. But everything is wonderfully restrained - there’s nothing over the top, nothing cheesy, nothing redundant. Just classic-styled Death Metal music that’s a breath of fresh air somehow.
Exquisite is the word I’d like to use to describe this music. Very rarely do you get something like this, at least from the States. Sure there plenty of good bands from there but none with the refreshing mindset of Konkeror. There are others too pushing the sound like say Zealotry but that’s rooted in a different sound than this one. This one is traditional yet fresh. Heavy yet melodic. Brilliant music.
laceratedenemyrecords.bandcamp.com; www.laceratedenemy.bigcartel.com
