German trio Krylithsic’s latest EP Beast of the Northern Hemisphere is a thunderous great mammoth of a release. If you’re a fan of fast, brutal music in any way, shape or form, then it’s well worth wrapping your ears around.
Hailing from Berlin, Krylithsic’s style however definitely has a heavy American death metal influence on it throughout. Second track Strive for the Throne has some heavy Skinless and Suffocation undertones. Deathcore giants Whitechapel are also an influence on the EP, along with brutal death act Necrotic Disgorgement. Krylithsic’s sound is not solely influenced by their death metal cousins from across the pond, fellow German heavy weights Defeated Sanity have clearly influenced the boys on the EP with their fast, chugging sound.
Beast of the Northern Hemisphere is easily a brutal album, however that does not mean that it’s full of pig squeals and slow slams, as Krylithsic have stuck firmly to the faster side of death metal on the EP. The final track Spread Eagle is a furiously fast and erratic number so blissfully chaotic that it enters into grind territory in places. The addition of what sounds like a pneumatic drill hammering away in the background sets the track off a treat too.
The second track Strive for the Throne is a real stand out number on the EP. The song is relentless, fast, commanding and vocalist Elmo showcases his vocal talents brilliantly, ranging from your standard, perfected death metal growls to increasingly lower, guttural vocals.
The first, third and fifth tracks on the EP give it a real concept album feel. Inauguration of the Imbeciles, Simplicity of the Obvious and Iniquity in a Carnal Shell tell the tale of an armed naked woman trying to explain to the police why she has a tonne of dead bodies in her house and weird carvings on certain body parts.
Overall Beast of the Northern Hemisphere is a powerful and aggressive EP. The songs are brilliantly erratic, chaotic and thunderously heavy, which will undoubtedly impress most fans of death metal. The spoken numbers, whilst giving the album an eerie concept undertone are used too often on the EP, instead it would be refreshing to hear more of Krylithsic’s pounding, irregular, heavy noise instead of a tale unwinding between tracks. All in all this is a thoroughly entertaining EP that packs a mighty punch.
(7/10 Eilish Foxen)
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