EP REVIEW: Yom-Ma-Lok – Whispers
If you haven’t heard of ‘Bangkok Evilcore’, you’ll want to familiarise yourself fast. The self-designated title describes the unique, creative and enrapturing brand of metallic hardcore that WHISPERS have to offer. On Yom-Ma-Lok, the band deliver their most cohesive and elevated sound to date, staking their position as titans of metallic hardcore.
Bringing their distinct sound to the EP, the fittingly titled opening track Bangkok Evilcore is an instrumental introduction to the world WHISPERS are about to carve out. Building from echoed riffs into full bodied, dynamic breakdowns, the track immerses you into the scope of the EP; one that is unafraid to confront human nature and its darker facets.
This leads into A Choice To Survive, where the band are in full force. Lyrically pulling upon proverbs from Buddhism, WHISPERS interrogate humanity with a spiritual resonance. This is delivered with a brutality and dynamism, further heightened by the collaboration with SPEED’s Jem Siow that bursts out of the track’s breakdown.
Lead single Retribution is filled with dynamic beats and an aggressive force. The track’s breakdown balances more melodic moments with brutal vocals and a guitar riff that pierces through at the end of the track, wrapping you up in its melody. This hypnotic impact pulls you into the track’s choral ending, pulling further into the spiritual undertones of the EP as WHSIPERS explore ideas of karmic reckoning.
The EP demonstrates WHISPERS‘ ability to craft moments that are both full of power and surprise you with their hypnotism. Close Your Eyes is full of intense drums, and you are then taken to a different level with enthralling guitar riffs. Similarly, This Is Not The End creates a bounce between the drums and bass that is unlike anything else on the EP.
Yom-Ma-Lok’s various features also see WHISPERS collaborating with Shaun Alexander of DEMONSTRATION OF POWER on track Wisenheimer. The track balances Shaun’s thick vocals with the aggressive power of the tracks crunchy guitars to offer a dynamic spin as the EP reaches its close.
Titular track Yom-Ma-Lok closes the EP with a theatrical impact. Building from melodic and slow pulls into an explosion of drums and guitars, the track concludes the EP with the haunting level of darkness and aggression. The title’s translation to ‘world of death people’ or ‘underworld’ is reflected in the distortion of the vocals lent by KICKBACK’s Stephen Bessac. The title track concludes the album with an overwhelming darkness, pulling you into a twisted crescendo that leaves you wanting to hear more of what WHISPERS have to offer.
Yom-Ma-Lok finds WHISPERS interrogating human nature in its haunting navigations of self-reliance, spirituality and karmic retribution. In this journey, WHISPERS also find their most elevated and cohesive sound yet, balancing thematic creativity with sonic impact. WHISPERS are an unrelenting force, and one clearing a path for themselves in the hardcore world that is undeniable in its dynamism and creativity.
Rating: 9/10
Yom-Ma-Lok is out now via Flatspot Records.
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