RELEASE YEAR: 2021

BAND URL: https://indisciplinarian.bandcamp.com/album/anti-ritual

 

Look at that beautiful cover – do you think these guys sing love songs on “Expel The Leeches”? Indeed, the music of this 30 minute recording is as crude, ugly and brutal as the guillotine on its cover, a hardcore punk crust with generous helpings of death black and, to a lesser degree, thrash encased in surprisingly abundant melody, somewhere among early Napalm Death, mid era Prong and early Mastodon and lyrics of modern capitalism, the many guises worn by the rising fascism, the fear of environmental collapse, and the world we are leaving behind for future generations, for a very impressive if flawed last year’s debut (October 29th), their first official recording despite over seven years of existence.

 

Between the two brief acoustic “In” and “Out” lie 10 tracks of fury, somewhat blackened (The Oppressive Weight), sometimes classically deathly (Monetary Man, Necrocapitalism), with nods to alternative thrash/groove of the 90s (the title track, Franchise Coffee Bars & Internment Camps) and even modern metalcore and melodeath (Guillotine, What Will We Tell Our Children) as well as sludgey heavy metal (Necrocapitalism, No Human Is Illegal). Specifically, early Napalm Death dominates throughout with occasional 90s Prong in the title track, early Mastodon in “No Human Is Illegal” while old school death of early Hypocrisy in “Necrocapitalism” and “Monetary Man”. In the favorite “Guillotine” I hear echoes of This Ending’s excellent debut “Inside The Machine” as well as some riffs from Trivium’s “Krisiute Gomen”. “The Oppressive Weight” and “What Will We Tell Our Children” recall Darkest Hour while “Franchise Coffee Bars & Internment Camps” has that Machine Headian groove, that track about as long as the “Paracletus” Deathspell Omegan “The Oppressive Weight”, the two longest and most progressive cuts. Marco Malcorps (vocals), Jacob Krogholt (guitar), K.B. Larsen (bass), Nikolaj Borg (drums) are not so much giving a stellar performance here but simply puke all over you with their anger, bitterness and lust for revenge on the titular leaches but they do it with so many hooks and melodies that you don’t mind the dry cleaners’ bill. Besides, the record is literally in and out before you have a chance to protest or object.

 

I would like to hear a little more variety and, dare I dream, longer tracks in the future but I like what I hear already on this debut and I don’t mind the way I look after this quadriple exposure to “Expel The Leeches”. If you don’t have a whole 30 minutes to spare, at a bare minimum give “Necrocapitalism”, “Guillotine”, “The Oppressive Weight” and “Franchise Coffee Bars & Internment” a listen, you’ll be glad you did.