Labels: War On Music
Review by: Alex Deller
More of this wobbly, overwrought prog-infused stuff that I should find awful/hilarious but can’t help but quite like. What the hell is happening to me? I just don’t know, and it makes me fear for both my sanity and for the future. Anyway, this is pretty good. While some bands of this ilk go all-out to showcase their technical virtuosity, Astrakhan concentrate on getting their meatily organic riffs down pat and keeping a steady rock churn going while their singers warble and caterwaul atop it all. There’s an eastern tinge to affairs that, combined with the overall crunchiness, makes me think of Faith No More having a crack at ‘Baghdad’ by High On Fire or maybe Tool clashing head-on with Kylesa. Neither of these are bad comparisons in my book, and are at least better than some of the others (e.g. the loathsome likes of Muse and System Of A Down) that also bubble up on occasion. It’s a solid effort, albeit one that needs an additional something “” either in the production or the band’s own sense of attack “” to tip it over the edge into must-own territory. Still, it’s relatively early days for ’em yet, which means they’ll hopefully nail down that missing piece and give it even more welly next time around.