Kaiju- The Gods Are Angry

Kaiju is a metal band that formed back in 2008. I say metal band because it is very difficult to pigeonhole these guys to one specific sub-genre. They play a style that is primarily death metal but there is also a fairly doomy aspect to their music as well. They have went on to release a full-length, an EP, and a split with Druid Lord since this release. If the band name wasn't a big enough hint I'll let it be known that these guys dig monsters, you'll hear all about it throughout this release and any other release you decide to pick up from the band.

The thing that stands out the most on this release is the atmosphere. The entire demo seems like the perfect soundtrack for walking around an old foggy graveyard at night. The keyboards also add to this aspect creating the feeling of an old school horror flick. In the end all of this works towards grabbing your full attention and prevents the demo from simply becoming "background music". That being said even with all this thick atmosphere completely pulling you into the listening experience, the tracks are too brief for their own good. The longest track just barely breaks three minutes, and the style Kaiju is playing here calls for long epic tracks. Most of the songs here just come across as solid appetizers even though they could amount to be huge main course meals.

This release opens with the very crushing track "Hellbender", which features an earthshattering rhythm heavy enough to wake even the most elusive creatures in the world. The guitar playing is killer from start to finish. For the most part the riffs are very heavy and catchy but on occasion they are interrupted by some crazy shredding. Upon first listening it appears that the shredding is just randomly thrown in but with further listens I couldn't imagine it being any other way. These sections are well crafted and will have you playing air guitar like a goddamn fool in no time, trust me, I can tell you this based off personal experience (in public).

Nev's vocals are just as brutal as I've come to expect. Having only heard his work with Loathsome before this I was slightly disappointed in the lack of highs. His shrieks on the Loathsome demo are possibly the most vile I've ever heard. With that being said, even without his signature shrieks being used he still has a pretty unique growl. He remains to be one of the few that really manages to standout from the legions of other death metal vocalists.

Overall Kaiju definitely wield an extremely unique sound. Aside from the song length issue this release is pretty much perfect. Fans of death and doom metal will find something to enjoy here without a doubt. Even fans of the more traditional realms of heavy metal might find themselves enjoying some of the riffs here quite a bit. Kaiju's sound actually should appeal to metal fans all across the board. They certainly have shaped their own style and defining it is nearly impossible. Give this a listen.