Review by Iron Mike
- https://kalopsya.bandcamp.com/
- Release date: 4/7/2023
- Mixed and Mastered by ???
- Tags: melodic death metal, metal, metalcore, Saint Peter,
Setup
In the interests of transparency, I’m not the biggest metalcore fan out there. But, I’m also not the biggest fan of labels, subgenres and judging music by the associated hashtags. A lot of my desire to listen to metalcore begins and ends with early Fit For A King and a handful of random tracks from other bands in the genre.
That being said, these guys are locals, hailing from St. Peter MN. And, they bring the sort of passion you would expect from a band trying to carve their own niche in the MN metal scene and beyond.
Fresh Meat
The first track on this one, Time, starts by letting you know immediately it’s a ‘core song. The trademark clean/emotional vocals lead the way into the coming fury of the meat of the song. Overall, the song has anthemic elements, nice contrast between sections and the prerequisite moments that make your head bang.
Rev 9.6 is the second offering on this EP. Coming out of the gate, it’s more aggressive than the opener and settles into a hammering cadence before giving way to very metalcore chorus.
Next up we get to Watershed, which feels a lot like a continuation of Rev 9.6. This one brings a little more dynamic riff work and even a few darker moments than the band brought in the previous tracks.
Alethia, the fourth offering, is the first to really stand out from the rest. If this album has a “hit single”, Alethia would get my vote. The aggression is stronger, the riffs catchier and the interplay between vocals and music more complex.
The final track on this one is Veil of Deception. This one sneaks up on you, then starts hammering you into the floor. If there’s a live, crowdpleaser track on this EP, Veil… is it. I can imagine this one slays live. At about the 3:45 mark everything slows and builds, leading to one of the best parts of the whole EP. The band’s decision to have this as the closing track was a good one. “Leave ’em wanting more…”
The Kill
For a debut ep, this one does a good job of letting the listener know what Kalopsya is all about.
Each track seems to build on the one before, showing solid promise for their next release. The five members of the band are clearly talented, and that talent if very much on display throughout this album.
For those who live for the negatives: when checking out a band for the first time, I listen for a lot of things: overall vibe, musical and songwriting skill, guitar/bass/drum tones, vocal style/skill, overall talent. And, most importantly: stickiness. Is there something that makes me want to back up and hear it again? After listening, do I find a riff, section of a song or anything else stuck in my head? If not, then I won’t find myself wanting to listen again and again. Unfortunately, I only had those moments in the final two tracks.
However, it takes some bands time to “discover” their own sound, unearth their own unique vibe and with that, the “stickiness” happens. You can hear that growth as this EP progresses, which is really promising.
Hopefully these guys are already recording a new album and have built on Alethia and Veil…
As a second “negative”, it was hard to find much about the band online. Their Bandcamp page is barren. Tons of shows, social posts, etc., but not much hard info. Would love to see more of what this band is about (tell me about the band without using metal subgenres and hashtags), their lyrics, some technical info (where was this recorded?), things like that.
Final Thoughts
Metalcore seems to be such a polarizing subgenre of metal. So many people either love it or hate it. Regardless of which camp you fall in (or even if you don’t land in either), give these guys a listen. The writing is on the wall that Kalopsya has the talent and passion to deliver some killer music.