C.O.A.G.

Artist: 
Album Title: 
Sociopath
Release Date: 
Monday, October 14, 2013
Label: 
Distribution: 
Review Type: 

Kaotoxin recently started a kind of interactive promotional outlet, called Kaotoxin SideBlasts Series. It can be considered some kind of free crowd funding, meant to unleash side-projects of Kaotoxin recording artists (cf. bio). There is a specific goal, a number of visitors that can buy a digital download of a recording, and when this goal has been reached, the actual physical release of that very same stuff will be made available. In meantime, the label is listing all supporters … on a dedicated Facebook page (cf. bio) and those who joined, will be enlisted finally on the final thank list. I did mention ‘free’ above, and also ‘buy’; this means an explanation. The digital download needs to be paid, but as soon as the goal has been achieved, the subscriber will sort of receive a digital sum for the very same amount (via a personal discount code), which he (or she) can spend on any other material done via this label – so it’s totally free in the end (cf. bio).

There was a first SideBlasts Series try-out for Colosus, one of the many projects by Daniel ‘Khrud’ Neagoe (one of those projects is Eye Of Solitude, which did release the album Canto III very recently; dear colleague Tony reviewed the stuff, very professionally, of course, which was updated on January 18th). And now there is a second effort, this time for one of the many projects Belgian top-musician Déhà is involved with. This guy, from the Mons-region (the capital city of province Hainaut in the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium), is known from many solo-projects within the Extreme Metal / Noise / Ambient / Industrial scene (Imber Luminis, Alenda, Merda Mundi, Khel, AutoDestructionNeeded and many others), as well as member from bands whether or not known and notorious. With ColosusDaniel he is in Deos, for example, and in a couple of weeks, he will release an album under the moniker of We All Die (Laughing), a band / project that also includes Arnaud Strobl of Carnival In Coal / Tridus Elasticus / Burgul Torkhaïn-fame.

[PS: Déhà has also a Reggae-project, Jah El Camino, and he’s been guest or session member in many other projects or bands, amongst which some Daniel Neagoe is involved with as well]

So, it brings me, finally, to this review specifically. C.O.A.G. is one of the solo-outfits by Déhà, and the moniker is the abbreviation of Coalition Of Abnormal Grinders. Sociopath is a fifteen-tracker with a total running time of less than a quarter of an hour, bringing a pretty ‘original’ kind of Grindcore. It surely exhales a specific atmosphere that reminds me to earlier Napalm Death or Brutal Truth, but both sound / production and song writing / structure are lovely own-faced. The punkish attitude is gloriously present, and so is the Death Metal-driven performance. And the totality fits / hits / shits. The razor-sharp speed-assaults sound organic and, at the same time, unnaturally unhuman, covering the whole within a veil of warlike emotions. Once again I will refer to the bio, which did mention the term ‘War Grind’.

Join the Side Blasts Series and make sure this noisy ear drum-terror gets a physical shape!

[and look out for the upcoming We All Die (Laughing)-album Thoughtscanning]

83/100