Review by Alex Grindor on December 29, 2023.

A relatively new band, Karkosa established their presence in 2018 with the EP Harvest Of The Adept, which drew some attention. Now, almost 6 years later, they spawn their first LP Esoterrorcult. As soon as it starts, it is clear that this is quite the beast, wasting no time in ripping and tearing through your speakers.

With barely any sort of warning, dissonant harmonies open the gates of Esoterrorcult, as the first track 'Encorcelled Spirits' displays a furious barrage of blackened death expertly executed. In this single track we are treated to everything the album has to offer; machine-gun drums, ravaging guitar riffs and a wide variety of vocals, ranging from hellish growls to clean vocals. Music wise, the album is a furious display of black death with a palatable rage in every aspect of the album. The guitars cut through with furious, monstrous riffs and harmonies that never seem to cease, as well as a dash of dissonant work that adds to the atmosphere of the album. The drums are maniacal in their delivery, with constant blasts and changes in rhythm without losing any aggression in their delivery. The bass guitar, as it is the norm in this style, is barely perceptible. It does show at moments and its weight is sort of present but it's lost in the mix with the rest of the instruments. The vocals have quite the range and shift at every possible moment, sometimes even harmonizing between them.

Production-wise, there is little to note here. It is well recorded and mixed and there are virtually no mistakes to take note of. Whoever was in charge of the studio did an excellent job, as did the band in their performance. The only minor complaint would be the bass buried in the mix but this is common in extreme metal bands, even more recent ones. That aside, I did find the clean vocals to be a bit odd being included amidst the chaos of the music. This issue is quickly addressed though, as they are well performed and add another layer of chaos and despair to the overall sound, while not being overly featured.

Karkosa has crafted an excellent record with little to no issues to be noted. Their unhinged blackened death is executed to utmost perfection, showcasing a band that has completely grasped the vision of where they want to take their music. In 10 tracks they deliver everything, from apocalyptic frenzy to horrific atmosphere, and I hope that Karkosa only improves as time goes on. The album is set to be released in February 2024 and I would suggest checking it out as soon as it is released. This is one hell of a maniacal album and deserves your attention, as Esoterrorcult blurs the line between melodic black metal and brutal death metal, threading in a space I can confidently say is their own.

Rating: 9.4 out of 10

Review by Carl on April 18, 2022.

I remember first running into these guys back in my teens, finding a copy of their first album Life Sucks ..., with it's crappy so-bad-it-becomes-good cover art and unpolished, raucous musical content, and later buying Tower Of Spite which bored the arse out of me for reasons I can't really explain. It just did. Because of this I really haven't been paying attention to their dealings from that album last mentioned on, until recently I bought this album for cheap, and I must say that I'm still not totally on board with their brand of thrash metal with some slight crusty edges.

Contrary to Tower Of Spite, I do know exactly what it is that bugs me on this particular album, and that is the lack of velocity. Opener 'Bastards', that has a cool Amebix feel to it, acts more like an intro than a genuine song, with 'Descent Into The Unconsciousness' being the real opener. A Testament/Metallica style riff promises a thrash tornado about to be unleashed, but deteriorates into a mid-tempo slog with some tedious lackluster drumming right away, something that keeps popping up throughout the album, with tracks like 'Veil Of Tears', 'Sphereborn' or 'Mammonite' as examples of this. The music moves along, sure, but it never really gets going, if you know what I mean. It's not like they turned into a 90's groove metal band, but as a thrash band this falls flat on its face. Step on the accelerator, guys! It's the one right next to the brakes.

By now, you probably think that I hate this album, but that's not the case either. There is quite some to be enjoyed here. Take the double kick driven parts in 'Middle Third' and the aforementioned 'Mammonite' that manage to propel dealings straight forward. It also has to be mentioned that throughout the album the riffing is tight and on point, with a cool sound to the guitar work production-wise, and vocals that sound awesome and, in true hardcore punk fashion, really menacing. Interestingly enough, my personal favorite track is the doomed-out slow burner 'Beyond Jerusalem', sounding like Celtic Frost one time and early Paradise Lost the next. Great track all-round!

The cd versions have 3 bonus tracks. One original, 'Maimed To Beg', which finally sees the band diving head first into some manic hardcore thrash rage, even if it sounds a tad neutered by the perhaps too clean (for a band like Cerebral Fix at least) production. The other bonus tracks are cover versions of old school UK punk bands G.B.H. and The Damned. Nice to hear once or twice but pretty redundant in the end.

This is a pretty so-and-so album in its totality. It's not a bad effort, but it's clear the members were bored with what they had been doing, something underlined by the fact that in the band picture two of their members are wearing shirts of UK dance acts EMF and The KLF. Good chance that they were perhaps looking to try doing something different with their sound. They still had the Bay Area thrash metal riffs, but scaled back on the speed, while injecting groovier rhythms, ending up sounding confused, unfocused and, unfortunately, boring. Compared to the chaotic-yet-highly-entertaining approach of their debut, this album is a slog struggling to get started, even if there are some good ideas present.

Too bad they aren't good enough.

Rating: 6 out of 10