“The self-titled debut by Kenyan duo Duma (meaning “darkness” in Kikuyu) is a most peculiar rara avis, carrying the sort of art difficult to distill into words, let alone narrow down to a single genre indicator. So while “grindcore” might be easiest to associate with the often rhythmically driven and dark work of Martin Khanja (aka Lord Spike Heart) and Sam Karugu, any expectations or points of reference go out the window within the first ten seconds of Duma’s opening track.” World metal.
“Once upon a time there was a dude named Maxime Taccardi. Max has a twisted and dark mind, and I fear it. His music is equally frightening, and it makes me uncomfortable. Yet, I can’t turn it off. Try as I might to fend it off his insidious vision haunts my imagination, conjuring the most depraved scenarios for me to weather. For Max, it seems, this place of nightmares which he creates represents the repugnant underbelly of his Paris home. And so he put all that we refuse to see inside the “most romantic city in the world” to music. Ladies and gentlemen, Griiim’s Pope Art.” Warhol’s twisted Id.
“65daysofstatic can do no wrong. From being invited to score the first radio adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut fangirl here!) to soundtracking the procedurally generated open world planetary exploration game No Man’s Land, the experimental four-piece band from Sheffield, England have again and again graciously cherry-picked unique opportunities that are presented to them upon which to work their magic. 65daysofstatic meticulously piece together complex and emotional structures of sound and continually push the boundaries of what’s possible for music to convey. replicr, 2019, 65daysofstatic’s eighth studio album, is no exception.” Non-static Static.
“Stahlmann are the new decade’s flag-bearers for Neu Deutsche Härte (NDH); a genre hailing from Germany in the 90s, featuring groove, industrial, and electronic influences, and popularized by the likes of Rammstein and Oomph!. While they’re both still active, Stahlmann deemed these big names needed support and so their first record was released in 2010. Bastard is now their fourth and I’m forced to consider its title. Is it a puerile scream against a shitty world or the unwanted child which they’ll ditch upon its release?” Illegitimate.
