Any release that has the Pelagic name to it is worthy of your attention, seeing as it is the label that The Ocean’s Robin Staps runs. This is a split release of two Swiss acts the first of which is Coilguns (a side project of some guys from The Ocean) and immediately a hardcore menace is unleashed in a similar way to Converge. A mass of technical riffing appears on “Mastoid” with a manic vocal performance added to the rabid pot. In places the guitar work has Dillinger Escape Plan like acrobatics as the riffs linger just long enough for you to implant them in your memory. Following this is “Phersu” which has punk riffing to start with and tons of randomised time changes and guitar runs. Noticeably the band does not opt for blast beat sections for ferocity but prefer to pepper their songs with a myriad of riffs and hooks as I felt an industrial edge similar to October File. Final song of Coilguns trio is “Kachinas” which is quicker and more insane with a math style on the guitar breaks and vocals the equivalent of gargling broken glass with battery acid. The sporadic blast excerpts fit well within the chaotic and dissonant song writing style.
Kunz (also having members from The Ocean Collective) are similar to Coilguns in that there is a mechanistic style to the sound as though it was recorded in a disused steel foundry. The vocals here sound like very early Mudhoney distortions though the tune is damn heavy but with an emphasis on vocal explosiveness. The drumming is played like each hit is a detonation of sporadic bombs going off during opener “Flow” as the song quickly ends and is into “Apnea” with a thunderous bass line and a deluge of drum and cymbal crashes. The bass continues like a slow moving pyroclastic flow, you know its there but you can’t move for being transfixed by its inexorable movement toward you. The fuzzbox guitar sound of “Flush” has a high treble to it creating a piercing effect that is more like endurance than a listening experience but works perfectly when you have the vocals being shouted as though from a distance. The guitar feedback only adds to the chaos and fury the song unleashes. The funny thing about this song is the underlying Sabbath bass lines which dig deep into the song. Final song is “What Makes Me Sleep” which has ex-The Ocean shouter Mike Pilat guesting. There’s more bass fuzz this time with vocals as maniacal and vicious as possible without losing too much clarity, as this song possesses a more recognisable and accessible beat.
As with most Pelagic records releases most are severely limited in quantity and my guess is this will be limited too as my copy is hand numbered for that special personal purchase. I’ve ordered from Pelagic before and you can guarantee reliability if you care to indulge.
http://pelagic-records.com
Martin Harris
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