PYRAMIDS
S/T
(Hydra Head)

FARFLUNG
A Wound in Eternity
(MeteorCity)

GOZU
S/T
(Self-Released)

LITMUS
Planetfall
(Rise Above)

ANOTHER KIND OF
DEATH
Sleepless Every Night
(Underhill)

EAK/CRUSHING SUN
Bipolar 

(Major Label Industries)

TETSUO
David Keenan is My Dick 

(At War With False Noise)

MORE REVIEWS

As evidenced by that Monogono album I reviewed a few months ago Portugal certainly has plenty to offer in the extreme music camp. But most of their bands won’t make it Stateside, and though the sounds of the two bands included in this split do not verge on the groundbreaking, both still provide a pummeling at least as devastating as that produced by first rate English and American bands. 

First up we have EAK (Extraterrestrial Alternative Knowledge) who hail from Sao Joao de Madeira and came together in 2001. They make some jaw dropping hardcore music. Nothing stiff about these songs. EAK is a band that bends its sounds as the songs require. “White Rose” for instance, is mid to slow tempo, but in merit of its heaviness and extended length it creates a pretty disturbing atmosphere. The rest of their share of “Bipolar” is spent making sure the listener knows what this band is about; there are some excellent nuances to the guitars in “Flap ‘Em” that reveal much about the modernity of their sound. And yet at other times, they wink and offer a throwback to more classic hardcore sounds, like those produced by the NY scene in the 80’s and early 90’s. For a piece of that check “Don’t Step On My Toes”.

The last six songs of Bipolar come from Crushing Sun, a quartet that has been together since 2003 and that offers a much more metallic sound. As truthfully stated in the promo, Crushing Sun bring to mind the sounds of Lamb of God and Gojira. That means that the double bass drum is everywhere. That the growling yet understandable vocals loom all over this recording and that the guitars offer groove oriented riffs, a screeching wail here and there and the occasional solo. It is pretty powerful stuff, but though this band displays plenty of confidence, they are still to carve their own sound.

EAK Official Site

EAK MySpace

Crushing Sun MySpace