Altsounds - Carpathian - Isolation [Album]

Harder than a coffin nail; Carpathian, hit the hardcore scene back in 2003. After a few line-up changes and some well established support slots, its clear to see the band have worked hard to get where they are. Hardcore seems to be a breed that stays stagnant in the music industry. You hear about these bands, they get some good exposure, then they seem to die out within a few months. Alexisonfire for instance, very good band live and on record, but what are they doing now? Maybe the genre will never break it big due to its aggressive content and hard attitude. It was more the American scene pushing over to the UK and with no great success. Our Uk boys Gallows managed to slip through the net with some great success, but then again then did collaborate with rapper Lethal B offering a more diverse audience availability with the track 'Staring At The Rude Bois'.

Carpathian however, keep it hardcore as sweedish porn. All ten tracks are short, sweet and brutal. Martin Kirby's vocals growl, screech and pummel through the tracks with no regrets. His lyrics follow suite that seem to be an agonizing hatred towards himself:

"I feel violent, volatile, on the verge of destruction
So lost inside myself, it resonates this beating against my head and heart
So lost inside myself, it isolates as routine bites hard"

"I am nothing, I am permanence."

Whether or not these lyrics are a personal vendetta against society, people, government and all the usual hardcore issues, they work well.

Each track is full of energy, with some great musicianship. Drummer David Bichard excels himself with some brilliant drum fills and drum rolls on the fourth track 'Insomnia'.

It's very hard to step outside the box with innovation in this genre, well, most genres. Something new is hard to achieve and Carpathian are nothing different. 'Spirals', 'Sun Heights' and 'Ceremony' have the same pace and structure throughout leaving you with the feeling of non diversity in their song writing.

Similar tracks, short burst of energy and heavy foreplay make up the ten tracked 'Isolation'. If you like hardcore bands, then Carpathian will be your cup of tea, if you are looking for something new (very hard to achieve in this day and age) then put the kettle down and listen to your back catalog of Michael Jackson.

Track listings:

1. Isolation (1:43)
2. Cursed (3:03)
3. Spirals (2:00)
4. Insomnia (2:33)
5. The Cold Front (2:58)
6. Deadbeats From Deadhearts (1:45)
7. Sun Heights (2:53)
8. Seventyk (3:09)
9. Ceremony (3:02)

10. Permanent (2:50)

http://www.myspace.com/carpathian