Cortez - Initial - CD (2005)

Labels: Radar Swarm
Review by: Kunal Nandi

With so many bands like this about, it’s hard to say anything new or interesting (poor journalistic skills notwithstanding) without damning them with faint praise, but still, Cortez from Switzerland (the land of Knut) bring forth some sweet technical metallic hardcore. In fact, Knut’s a good touchstone, as the vocals are desperately screamed, the riffs are complex and the drumming is tight, with unpredictable tangents taken during the course of a song. These guys have more of a handle for the epic feel with some track lengths spinning into 7-minute territory, which helps keep things interesting thanks to the band’s own superbly crystal clear yet heavy production and various other bits of studio trickery. A special note should be made of excellent digipak design on this fine piece of work.