Not too long ago Hungarian groove metallers Ektomorf released The Acoustic, now they are back with to business with Black Flag.
Slowly they kick off with War Is My Way, the introducing parts is based on drumming, but then they go full force. They offer a heavy groove, sharp riffing and aggressive shouts. They slow down and present a tribal drum-based passages with clean vocals, then pick up speed and heaviness... Spoken words before they storm off into Unscarred. Looks like they got more confident to experiment after doing The Acoustic album. This tune shows some reminiscences to Machine Head... The song is quite catchy without losing the power or being cheesy. The opening passage of Cut It Out might fool someone who isn't familiar with Ektomorf, but it's just a different way to head into an aggressive groove metal tune. The title track is a simple but aggressive groover. Again Zoltán Farkas shouts repetitively some lines, personally I would wish be would get away from the repetitiveness. The acoustic track 12 Angels is placed in the middle of the album and that might be a problem for some, but you can skip it. ;) The short acoustic is splitting the album into 2 parts, it's like the last track on side A... It shows once more that the Hungarians are more confident now and no longer playing safe. Fuck Your God has a hardcore edge... It's a short but massive attack! At Sick Love Zoltán Farkas uses whispered words to create a different atmosphere at certain parts of the song. Kill It kicks off with the voice of a TV host talking about a killing, an interview sequence.. and they head into this riff-based track. The closer is called The Pretender and starts with guitar picking and clean, melodic vocals, but soon they pick up speed and riffs give it a rock vibe. Not the typical Ektomorf stuff, but I wouldn't mind to hear more stuff like this!
I guess you have to be open-minded to appreciate Black Flag, the Hungarians moved on - without forgetting their past! But if you only look for straight-forward groove metal, then this won't fulfil your desire. But if you like some variety and didn't dismiss The Acoustic, then you'll enjoy Black Flag!
The Hungarian neo thrash combo Ektomorf is presenting a special album, The Acoustic. That this project will divide the fans Zoltán Farkas and his mates should have expect... I like the idea, but if they can really convince someone with The Acoustic? The kick off with I Know Them, one of their classics. The acoustic sound works well, but at the opener the vocals are too harsh - at least for me. At I'm In Hate Zoltán reduces the harsh vocals and the more emotional vocals work better with the acoustic versions. The band chose 5 classics and additionally they wrote 5 songs for this album. Be Free is showing their heavy, aggressive side, but also the soft side. At the softer parts Zoltán sounds completely different. He sings and screams - and switching between the two extremes give the song a special dynamic. Ektomorf's version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd cover Simple Man is one of the highlights, coz they manage to keep the spirit of the original and give them an Ektomorf-ish sound. And again Zoltán's vocals surprise me, I confess that I'm not a big fan of screams and harsh vocals, so it please me to hear more clean vocals as I always liked Ektomorf's music. After To Smoulder, another one I really dig, they kick off Folsom Prison Blues with the old vinyl sound - and who would have expect Ektomorf to cover Johnny Cash? From their classics Stigmatized worked out best. It's still heavy, but the acoustic sound gives it a different edge. To me it's more intensive. The closer is Who Can I Trust, this another heavy but more aggressive one with harsh vocals. And so the album ends the way it started.
Not everybody will like The Acoustic, but every open-minded metal fan should check out the album and make up his / her mind. Some will dig it, some won't. But it shows once more that Ektomorf do what they want and have the guts to do an acoustic album, even if might not understand this move. I'm curious what the next Ektomorf album will sound!
From the original line-up only Zoltán Farkas is left, back in 1994 he started the band with his brother Csaba Farkas. It took Ektomorf almost 10 years to get international recognition, even if in the underground they already been known. Producer Tue Madsen draw attention to the Hungarian band - and they still work with Tue Madsen. The cooperation started with Destroy. Now it's time for Redemption! They slowly lead you into the opener Last Fight, but than they storm off into an angry track based on a fat groove and heavy riffs.
The title track is another groove monster with a shout along. Not very memorable, but that isn't what Ektomorf is about. The guitar at opening part of I'm In Hate is quite interesting, than they add a fat groove and the mid-paced tune is steam rolling you. The song shows another facet of Ektomorf's sound and make the following God Will Cut You Down sound even heavier. Zoltán's angry vocals make the song aggressive, the chorus is a bit repetitive... In a way this can be also said about the songs, they are quite alike - with some exceptions. At Never Should it's the spoken words which make it differ. The spoken words passage makes the song more intense - especially with the heavy riffs backing them - and switching between angry shouts and the spoken words creates an atmosphere of despair. Later they speed up, thrash everything on their way. Sea Of Misery kicks off with acoustic guitar and clean vocals, and you wait for them to head into another angry attack, but this Nirvana-like tune just becomes a heavy rocker. If you would hear this song somewhere you wouldn't believe it's Ektomorf.
It's the songs which show Ektomorf in a different way are the ones which make the album interesting, even if fans will prefer the more typical tunes. Another highlight is The One where Zoltán is joined by Danko Jones. Here they combine the Ektomorf trademark sounds with melodic, clean vocals and so create a different atmosphere. The song is almost catchy... And I think after several spins it will be haunting... The slow semi-acoustic opening of Stigmatized is enriched with clean vocals, but then they storm off into another angry groove monster. But after a break they return to the opening theme and so the track sticks out.
At songs like Revolution the reminiscences to Sepultura / Soulfly are obvious, in the past they added a dash of their Hungarian origin and the Roma folk to it - and that made them differ. Nowadays this citations are gone. Unfortunately.
Well, fans of Ektomorf won't be disappointed, but if you already had problems to get into What Doesn't Kill Me, than you should check out Redemption before grabbing a copy or dismissing it.
The neo tribal thrashers from Hungary present their next album, the follow-up of 2006 release Outcast. The band of singer Zoltan did their best to offer a new killer album - and to make their fans happy. Ektomorf combine screams with fat sharp, but slow riffing. This time the songs are less fast and one or the other up-tempo track would have make the album more interesting. But the songs have groove and its real fun to listen to them. When you listen to the album you can really look forward to hear killer tunes like Rat War or Revenge To War live! If the new Sepultura album disappointed you, then check out Ektomorf! What Doesn't Kill Me is a real treat, if you like H8core!
It's been 15 years since Zoltán and Csaba Farkas founded Ektomorf. Their debut Hangok was released in 1996. Til now they released 7 studio albums and a live DVD, not they present #8 - What Doesn't Kill Me. Bassist Csaba Farkas left the band in 2008 and was replaced by Sabolcs Murvai. The band always had a slightly different sound compared to other genre bands, coz they used elements of the traditional Roma folk music.
They open up with the up-tempo tune Rat War which is aggressive and guitar-driven. Fat riffs and a catchy repetitive vocal line soon sneak into your brain... And starts haunting you. Very cool is the lead guitar part where they include unusual sounds. A true groove monster is Nothing Left, a track full of hate. The title track is a bit faster, but still dominated by a heavy groove and fat riffs. But here the lyric have a more positive view... Show that from struggle you can grow stronger. And that seems to be the case with Ektomorf... Especially the Farkas brother had to face racism in their home country. An ear catcher is Love And Live with its terse riffing. Live this one will invite the fans to open up a mosh pit. A dragging is I Can See You which is a bit like Crowbar... I Got It All is a bit too repetitive and so gets boring, luckily this changes with New Life! The opening if Sick Of It All reminds me of Clawfinger, Rage Against Machine and Faith No More... This track sticks out, cool tune! At the follower It's Up To You they include a spoken words part, towards the end of the album they experiment more - and that's good.
Not just the Roma music elements Ektomorf used made them somehow similar to Sepultura, even if the Brazilians use elements of their ethnology. So I can recommend Ektomorf to fans of Sepultura and also to everybody who loves a heavy groove and likes some diversity.
The album starts with sounds which we all know from the imam, but I guess it's in Hungarian, then the band starts with full speed. As in the past Ektomorf are offering power metal with different influences and death metal like growls, but you can understand singer and guitarist Zoltán Farkas. This is more like some of the Swedish melodic death bands compared to the vocals.
The album opener is also the title track and shows the direction of the Hungarian quartet. It's been awhile since their album Kalyi Jag was released and I think that the personal tragedy of Zóltan who lost his unborn child is partly the reason for the aggression. Music as a kind of therapy and it seems that this made them even better...
On the track Fire the quartet added new elements to their sound, there are scratches like we all know it from modern pop music. But this doesn't mean that they got influenced by that music or that they got softer, it's just an element. On the other hand they have a unusual parts which remind me of rap, coz it's more spoken then growled. Definitely this is music for the open-minded!
Interesting are again the songs they did in Hungarian like An Les Devla. Unfortunately I have no information about the songs and I don't know if there are liner notes in the booklet, coz I have a promo cardlet. Anyway, in the songs An Les Devla they use also folk elements, a female voice which sings as I assume in the language of the Roma.
Have you ever thought that it's possible to cover the Beatles in a thrash metal version? No? Me, too! But the Farkas brothers and their mates proof that it's possible to do! They cover A Hard Days Night and it sounds very interesting, even if many fans might dislike it. To have the courage to cover such a song, is admirable anyway, but they did it very well.
I don't want to go more in detail about the other songs, can just recommend this album to fans of metal which are open-minded enough to deal with thrash / punk metal with growls and also can handle almost acoustic songs and Hungarian lyrics. Beside that I should mention that soon there will be a Hungarian version where all songs are in their mother tongue! I think I have to check that out!
I've never heard of this band before and the name and title sounded strange, so I put in the CD and listened. My first impression was that it sounds a little like Sepultura's Roots. But before I'll tell you more about the music, let me first tell you something about the band! Ektomorf was founded back in 1994 by the Farkas brothers. And still singer / guitarist Zoltán Farkas and his brother Csaba Farkas on bass are the basis of Ektomorf. They are Roma and so they have to face discrimination everyday in their home country and they use their music to make the people aware of it. This is the third album of the Hungarians.
The opening track Son Of The Fire reminds me of the Brazilians as I said before, but with the next track the band shows that they have their own roots. On Sunte del mulo the trio is presenting an unusual track which is based on the vocals and on low volume, in the background, you hear a guitar, then the band joins in and it becomes a heavy rocking tune. Their roots are the folk music of the Roma and so they include elements of their traditional music and their language. And so this album has also a message! It's against discrimination and racism, something the Roma has to face everyday. The band can be proud of the song Brothersong which is also their video clip for Kalyi Jag (means: Black Fire) which is shown on their national music channel. Another very interesting track is For You. That one shows most of the elements of their sound, but to get the whole picture you have to listen to the title track Kalyi Jag. The title track is instrumental, just an acoustic guitars. Actually the tracks were they involve elements of their traditional music are more impressing then the rest. Perhaps because they are more outstanding... Anyway, an interesting band and the future will show, if they will find their place in the metal scene.
