Pristina, Khe Sanh
The tongue and cheek content from Boner Jams ’07 may be gone from the band’s current release, but the caustic, confrontational grind-influenced aural attack still is and has increased in its ferocity. Pristina’s take on chaotic hardcore mix sound clips, bruising, mosh-filled riffs and plenty of rhythm blasts to pummel you into submission on this latest EP.
The vocals throughout are a bit more guttural and aggressive than the last EP. There’s some nice layering going on that adds a good deal of depth to the band’s sound, as well. This EP has a pretty solid mix of stuff for any fan of metal — pummeling rhythms, chaotic riffing, aggression and solid production.
Salt Water Cthulhu
Pristina open up their latest EP with “Salt Water Cthulhu,” a teetering, reeling blend of brutality and chaos. After a brief movie sound clip the band gets down to business with chugging riffs and heavy drum work. There’s some decent head banging groove in the background of this one as the song progresses.
Because I Can Kill You
Manic blastbeats get this next one going along with a quickness. The group settles into a pummeling groove before the 30 second mark as the coarse vocals come in. There’s a nice moshing breakdown just before the one minute mark that’s pretty beefy.
Vierendelen
“Vierendelen” continues along the same crushing path as the last song, but with a more guttural screamed vocal delivery. It’s high pace is infectious as it cruises through the first two minutes like a rabid bull through a china shop. After which point there’s a decent sized breakdown and a transition to a more melodic overall sound. The riffing is more open and the drum work more creative as the final minute and a half play out.
Brown
After a few repetitive key words, the guys open up with a big series of screams and chugging guitars. There’s a great groove to this one that will have you pumping your fist in the air in no time. Lots of tempo shifts and layered vocals dominate as Pristina open up a big ole can of “whoop ass” with this one. The track ends with a bunch of noise and reverb that transitions into the next song.
Wolfspider
I’m not a big fan of this one. It’s an attempt at what Premonitions of War had done on a few of their releases, but not quite as effective.
Nervous Breakdown
The final track on the EP is a fun cover of Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown.” It’s definitely not in the same vein as the rest of the songs on this disc and sounds like they had some good times recording it.
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When compared to their last EP, Khe Sanh shows a natural progression of elements that the band toyed with in the past. Embracing a more chaotic hardcore base, Pristina hit hard and often with four solid tracks of grind-influenced metal.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A