Utopia Platafórmica

  Kratti “Matka Kohti Kosmista” (Signal Rex, 2024) “Kratti are the ascending newcomers of the bleak fields of Finnish Black Metal!” That is one bold statement, right? You need to be good at something before you go out and say that. Well… let’s find out. Kratti is a 3 man Finnish straight to the throat Black Metal act. They do have a point when they state they are the “…ascending newcomers…”, for their sound is stone cold ripping Black Metal. It is Finnish, and you can almost feel it in your bones. The melodies merged with that Finnish violence – that is not violence, but a harsher approach – that we all love. Come on! It is hard not to enjoy what the Finns have been doing for decades, their mastered sound, their own vision of Black Metal… Kratti goes down that path, successfully, and oh man! I was never into complex music, maybe due to my Hardcore Punk background, so when a band goes straight to the point, I am in for the ride. To say that these lads are doing something tha...

  Óðkraptr “Óðkraptr” (Signal Rex, 2024) The Danish Black Metal scene is becoming one of the most interesting scenes in Black Metal. A bit like the Dutch, their sound is not – only – straightforward Black Metal from the days of Past, but fusions of sounds, and forms, and perspectives. Well, we you reach a certain age you start to form a very specific image of what Black Metal is to you – and many more things in life, for that matter – and when something hits you differently, you take a step back and analyse it before giving an opinion. In a way, I am doing that with Óðkraptr, and learning how the beast lives and acts. Óðkraptr has been around for a while, and Signal Rex has been on top the game from the get-go, which does not surprise me anymore. “ÓÐKRAPTR is yet another creative vehicle for one Geistaz, who also numbers the esteemed likes of GEISTAZ'IKA among his endeavors. While that band tends toward a traditional expression of classic '90s black metal, ÓÐKRAPTR depart...

Pyra “Those Who Dwell in the Fire” (Immortal Frost Productions, 2024) Let start off by saying that “Summit of Existence” has one of the best openings I have heard in a while, and this says a lot, considering that Death Metal related releases are not my cup of tea, at all. And that is one of the things that surprised me the most when I first had contact with the band: they play a sound that has never appealed to me in a way that I wanted to reach out and learn more, research more, like it more… I am very, very picky when it comes to Death Metal, and “nothing is ever good to me” is the best way to put it, and this will always sound arrogant, but the thing is I cannot relate to most Death Metal bands, sounds, releases, etc. So where does the Italian trio make a real difference? No idea if I must be honest. Their sound is a very contemporary one. There is very little Old School fingerprint in here, their sound is monstrous in the sense that it overwhelms the listener; it surrounds yo...

Hardcore - What are you? E estamos de volta com mais uma entrevista. Na verdade, isto tem andado imensamente parado, mas é a vida. Tive algum tempo e resolvi postar esta entrevista com o Boss da Backwash Records sobre o Hardcore. Esta proposta "voou" para bastante pessoal, mas infelizmente não houve adesão... no stress, siga nisso! Go! O que é o Hardcore, e de que forma entrou na tua vida? Para mim o hardcore é não só um género musical, como existem mil, mas um género ao qual se reconhece uma comunidade dedicada, que extravasa para a vida valores e emoções como certamente poucos outros fazem. É difícil explicar sem experienciar. Como diz a marca de refrigerantes, you can’t beat the feeling. O hardcore entrou indiretamente através dos videojogos quando era puto, nomeadamente com o “Tony Hawk Pro Skater” e os seus filhos e primos: primeiro com o punk rock e depois com as horas/dias/meses/anos perdidos na Internet a descobrir mais bandas. Qual é, para ti, a core message do...