It never ceases to amaze me how far and wide heavy music can be found, and good music at that. Japan’s own Kruelty is a good example of this as they drop their second full-length album, Untopia (Profound Lore).
Thirty-seven minutes of an interesting mixture of metallic hardcore, death metal, and doom metal really bring together differentiating types of “heavy”. It is a mixture I did not know I needed and am certainly glad this fell into my lap.
‘Unknown Nightmare’ starts us off perfectly with an eerie sample intro for the first minute and suddenly there is a wall of death metal blasting right in your face. This track sets the record straight on what to expect as the swings between slam death and d-beat punk are sudden, yet pretty seamless.
‘Reincarnation’ gets better as it goes with more upbeat punk and then slowing down to a sludgy section that is sure to get your whole body moving. The breakdown towards the end right before the sludgy section returns is a real homewrecker, buy some spackle before listening.
At this point in Untopia it is quite clear that the influences at play here really jive well together and is not just a formula repeated a few times to make a record. Kruelty then looks to put the nail in the coffin with the album track, ‘Untopia’ being at the tail end of the record.
There is a feeling of finality and sadness in the opening riff. Equal parts of doomy sludge, death metal, and hardcore punk make up the sections of this album closer, each passage more aggressive than the last. There is a primitive, caveman-like, club-beating breakdown at the end to really stamp out this album perfectly.
Before pressing play on Untopia, I expected some pretty decent metallic hardcore, and by the end I was utterly impressed with what Kruelty actually is. A wide variety of heavy music from all over, converging into seven tracks that get the job done and not overstay their welcome. Not even forty minutes and I actually feel my neck burn a bit, so I knew it was gunna be a fun one.
So remember, heavy metal can be found anywhere from your own backyard to across the ocean, so just press play!
Buy the album here:
https://kruelty666.bandcamp.com/album/untopia
7 / 10
TIM LEDIN