Ostraca : "Thread"

The fourth full-length from this Richmond based based who hails from the same scene as City of Caterpillar and pg 99. They were once called Kilgore Trout, and now they are banging out so dynamically violent tunes that offer a manic depressive mood swing over the course of the first track. I would say they fall closer to hardcore than metal, as they are not too unlike early Converge. Sure, there is a chug here and there, but you can say that about many hardcore bands. They mellow out into a strum going into "Enmiserate"; it flows more like 90s emo. The vocals are screamed with a great deal of anguish. The melody carried by the guitars makes it an interesting song. The sung vocals in the background make for a suitable tribute to 90s emo. Midway into it they lash out with an effective thrashing. 

"Song For November' felt a bit likea breakdown for the previous song so I had to go back and give it another listen. This also means that thesongs are pulling from similar sonic shades; the syncopation is the main thing that sets it apart. The darker melodic shift helps to establish this song's identity. They explode into a furious burst of snarling to bring it t o a boil. "Ganymede " works off a subtle palm-muted tension. It's the instrumental you never guessed this album needed.

They rage back to life for "Freedom From Pain". Even here they wander off into some more speculative moments, which makes the build-up into a more powerful chug effective. "Greater Darkness" is more of a  punk power ballad, with vocals expelled emotions in a few different ways..  I will give this album a 9.5 it'sa geat deaql of fun, not being a slave to the era it pays tribute to as they find their own path here.

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