“Sometimes you gotta let the rough end drag“.
Texan metalcore kings Kublai Khan TX are back with a new EP titled Lowest Form of Animal out April 1st, 2022 via Rise Records. After the success of the critically acclaimed records Nomad (2017) and Absolute (2019), the stakes and expectations are as high as ever for the group. How could they ever keep up with the heat they bring on “Boomslang” or “The Hammer“?
The first song on the EP is “Swan Song (feat. Scott Vogel)“, and right off the bat it hooks the listener with Matt Honeycutt going back and forth on lines with Terror‘s Scott Vogel. The end breakdown seriously fucking rips, again with the dynamics that Honeycutt and Vogel play off one another, it is phenomenal. Definitely my favorite Kublai Khan TX song to date. The lyrical content is extremely deep, and eye-opening on the pain millions of women have to bear day to day (“For all the woman suffering so visibly. The runaways enslaved unwillingly. Drug addiction, dereliction, dying from trauma induced conditions. But you must find your strength. I can’t walk your life, your history. To see heartbreak from my window, one day this world might hear you. Sometimes you gotta let the rough end drag.”)
Riding off the high from the previous track, we roll onto the next one “Loyal to None“. The third single released leading up to the EP release, and it proves worthy of its predecessors. Sparing none to the Texas chaos, if heavy beatdown-type tracks are you thing, this EP will be one of your favorite releases all year. This track represent the rage felt when loyalty leads to betrayal and the lack of trust that carries on ones conscious because of such (“Only hurting myself with your words if I believe them. So forfeit ever being trusted. Fooled me once. Bound by blood so I’ll let you confess the lies you’ve tried to hide.“)
The tempo picks up on the third track “Taipan“, if you ain’t feeling just how pissed off Kublai Khan TX is, you need to open your ears. One thing I’ve noticed so far in this EP is the voices added from Soft White Underbelly videos on youtube. Adding an extra layer of context to the lyrical themes of each track, you can tell just how inspired the band may have been by the harrowing stories of those on the channel. The fourth track in this hard as hell EP is “Resentment“, originally released as a single before the announcement of the EP. The track fits perfectly amongst the rest, and some of those who I have spoken to on this track claim it as their favorite (“So take a swing at me for every fucking thing I put you through. So take a swing at me, the simple truth is I deserve to lose.“)
After I heard the final track “Dynasty“, I realized this is my new favorite Kublai Khan TX track. And at the end of this track is where I realized they were using Soft White Underbelly videos as the voices ending each track. This one has Charlie Jones a prison warden and executioner saying, “They had to do what they had to do, I did what I had to do, and they just have to let the rough end drag.“
After finishing Lowest Form of Animal, I’ve realized that this EP is showcasing Kublai Khan TX at the top of their game so far. Definitely a collection of their best tracks yet, and if this were a full length I’m sure I would be saying the same. I only have one slight critique (and it is really a stretch), but some of the pronunciation at moments in each track is difficult to hear and I have no idea what some few lyrics are. Despite such critiques, Lowest Form of Animal is Kublai Khan TX‘s best work yet, and hopefully the best is yet to come on their next full length record.
9.5/10
Lowest Form of Animal by Kublai Khan TX is out on April 1st, 2022 via Rise Records. To preorder, stream, and purchase click here.