Sometimes what makes a band work for your ears is an intangible quality. Though I typically dissect that feeling to understand it. That is the nature of music journalism. Or at least it should be. This band from Greece has a punk energy to them though the guitar tone rings out to tell a different story. The vocals stay firmly on the punk side in the opening song and I do not expect for these guys to turn into vampires any time soon. But the bass has creep to it and the guitar forms a spectral tension. All factoring in to sound I resonate with it more than if this was just a punk band.
There is a slight hint of the Misfits to 'Ending Things" though not as invested in movie monsters and more exploratory of depression. The punches in this song work well. It's more dark punk than death rock, though it shares certain sonics with it. The title track only has hints of the shadows in the chord progressions and is closer to straight-up punk. The chords of "Poison Scars" feel more like early New Model Army. Though the vocals have more of a shout to them. "Harrowing Times" is a better balance, though most of the weight rests on the guitars as the vocals pretty much do one thing. Not an uncommon occurrence in punk music.
The bass line that sets the stage for 'The Plan" is pretty cool and the rest of the song reminds me of old AFI. The vocal tone might not change but the cadence shifts enough for the song. Lots of palm-muted tension built. This is one of the album's strongest songs. 'Red Lines' finds them working off formulas that have already worked for them with moody guitar phrasing. "Concrete Wind " closes the album on a marginally darker tone. The vocal circle the same patterns they have been hitting you with. The guitars also hold a similar gray-clouded tension. I will give this album a 9.5, as they keep things interesting enough even in the basic framework of punk rock.
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