#SomethingAnimal Bestial Curse Part 1
Band: Something Animal
Title: Bestial Curse Part 1 (EP)
Label: Norad Promotion
Release Date: 02 February 2024
Country: France
Format Reviewed: Digital Download
Tapping into mathrock, hardcore and various permutations of metal Something Animal follow up their 2919 debut EP Urban Zoology with forthcoming EP Bestial Curse Part 1, (yes, as the title suggests, they’ve already got plans for the next set of songs — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here).
In case it hasn’t clicked yet, one look at the track listing of the latest release will confirm that Something Animal has a running animal motif (the idea being to look at human behaviour via that of animals).
The band’s favoured means of musical expression on their latest EP is through a series of five compact, raging, metallic hardcore tracks. Listeners may detect touches of the mathematical complexity of Dillinger Escape Plan (for instance with the rhythmic push and pull of closer “L.I.O.N.”) but the band never tries to pack too many ideas into each track, favouring precise, savage attacks that swoop in, smash up your house and vanish, leaving you in a daze (mostly in little over three minutes).
Opener “Rats” chugs along with a sense of alarm, like the city might be burning — and maybe it is! “Hyena” meanwhile combines a galloping verse with an emotive chorus and tortured sounding delivery from vocalist Vincent.
All through the EP in fact the vocals are never less than verging on frenzy, a kind of raging, at times strangled, mix of Meshuggah, Pantera and Amen.
“Dove” opens with a guitar rhythm reminiscent of System of a Down and features a great, head-banging passage that may in fact be a chorus.
The EPs closers “Bird” and the aforementioned “L.I.O.N.” could be the strongest tracks on the release. The former plays off rapid, jagged, stabbing riffs that stop and start at will. There’s a sort of nu-metal breakdown that then becomes almost proggy, in a way that could bring to mind Tool with a looping guitar line.
Closer “L.I.O.N.” is the only track where the band allows themselves to go over the four-minute mark and they use that time to drag the listener over a sharp rock face of relentless, metallic riffing.
Designed as it is to get in and out with maximum impact in minimum time Bestial Curse Part 1 might not reveal all its nuances in the first listen or two, but there’s no shortage of neat, memorable riffs, great, powerful playing and good-old-fashioned raging fury on display here to get you punching holes in the nearest wall.
Try to avoid that and just enjoy with minimal physical damage. 8/10 Tom Osman
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