ALBUM REVIEW: The Art Of Fatigue – Krause
To those of us who love our discordant and pummelling noise rock, the works of KRAUSE need to be swiftly added to your collection. With a similar driving insistency to bands like early CAVE IN and KEN MODE, this band are a missing connection in the weave of a noisy musical tapestry that is long overdue attention. Born from numerous musical outfits in the Athenian music scene, KRAUSE bring to us a listening experience that feels far from the warmth of the Aegean Sea and the antiquarian legacy of Pericles, instead taking the listener to the sweat-filled Athenian underground music scene.
The Art Of Fatigue feels like an incredibly apt title for this particular collection of songs, as KRAUSE play their music with a fantastic level of intention and vigour throughout the runtime. The rhythms from the driving riffs feel malleable and sprawling, whilst also pummelling you round the head repeatedly until as a listener you fit into the groove that the band have beaten you into. Opening number Ignorant Acts Of Crippled Vision acts as a summation of intent for the rest of the record, opening with one of these driving and heady riffs before the band lock in to a stomping groove and we have a moment that could easily elicit a whirling mass of two stepping. The driving rhythm of Steeped In Disaster is unrelenting, and features a flurry of guitar shred that, as a musical intention, outclasses all the classic rock worshiping guitar wizardry that still permeates rock music like a bad smell.
The sound of this record is perfect for the times we live in now. It has an excited vibrancy, but it is also mired in the decay and stagnation of modern society which it rages against with absolute vitriol. The aforementioned incessant rhythm that barrages the listener throughout the record is a constant that hammers home this idea of modern decay and of a society in crisis. One gets the sense of The Art Of Fatigue being a true performance piece, made by four people who want to vent their anger in the only way they know how, which is to pummel their instruments into oblivion.
There is a heavy line of disdain for the trappings of modern society laced throughout the record, with titles such as Ceremonial Aspects Of Everyday Bloodbaths and Talentless But Connected driving home the heavy vein of misanthropy and disgust at the values of capitalistic society. A final scream into the abyss comes in the form of album closer The Things I Love Affront Me With The Effort It Takes To Love Them which expands on the ideas that have come before it, delivering a final riff laden act of rage that needs to be heard. A great record that will fly under the radar for some, but for those that find it and indulge in its heady mix of intense rhythms and blazes of fury, you might have found a new favourite band.
Rating: 8/10
The Art Of Fatigue is out now via Venerate Industries.
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