“Burn the system.”
Since their formation in 2017 and debut in the following year, KRUELTY have gained a level of respect and notoriety over the years that have followed. Carving out their niche in their beatdown hardcore sound, blended in with death metal, they’ve crafted an intense and punishing sound. With their debut full-length, A Dying Truth, arriving in 2020, the hard-as-nails sound present on that release put them on the radar for a moment, leading into a sense of anticipation around their follow up, Untopia.
Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Untopia opens with lengthy track, “Unknown Nightmare“. Thankfully KRUELTY have simply put in the album’s introduction within the track, rather than breaking it off into its separate own entity. As the sheer unadulterated nature of KRUELTY’s sound bleeds in here, its six-and-a-half-minute opener will quickly weed out those not willing to indulge in Untopia‘s gruelling manner.
What comes in following tracks “Harder Than Before” and “Burn The System” continue to feed into the aggression present in its opening cut, with angular riffing and general guitar work that will be a treat for fans of the more technical side of things. The latter of the two contains a hauntingly good guitar solo that becomes an immediate highlight across Untopia. If I were to levy any significant complaints by this point, it’s that the mix does stick out a tad. While on an instrumental level there is a great sense of weight and clarity to the mix, the overuse of reverb on the vocals lends to a sense of being washed out in comparison to the rest of the make-up of the tracks here.
Further, while little sprinkles of variation come and go, with two-step beats and whirring guitars that hearken back to ’90s East Coast hardcore present on some cuts, I can’t shake the thought that there could possibly be more outwardly explored here. While these slight variations in structure and percussion do become apparent on repeat listens, more emphasis could be placed on the record on a sonic level, especially vocally, as the lyrics frequently prove to be unintelligible.
Exiting Untopia, it’s a difficult one to wrangle with. While there is something deeply interesting with its beatdown hardcore sound and its varying influences, it does perhaps sit within a niche that will make it too much of a challenge for many to fully divulge into its nuances. Outside of this, there is plenty to be enjoyed in punishing riffs and igniting breakdowns that will sure satisfy the fanbase that KRUELTY have carved out since their debut.
7/10
Untopia is out this Friday, via Profound Lore, and can be pre-ordered here.