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Screw the mainstream if you really want to get your rocks off you have to go to the underground. That's just what we plan to do with this series, take some of the best emerging bands that are out blowing away hardcore fans on the underground music scene.

Closer Than Kin - The Machineries Of Breath
Label: Punktuation Records

Having finished the Death By Stereo Summer Tour last month, Closer Than Kin seem to be hitting the big time across the west coast, promoting their debut full length �The Machineries Of Breath'. But what will a cynical lass from across the sea's reckon?! Give us your worst CTK�.

First track �The Euphoria of Strangulation' holds dear its metalcore vocals, (and cringe worthy backing vox), speedy punk rock rhythm and hardcore guitar riffs and mini solo.

�3 Words and 3,000 Tears' starts with an upbeat hardcore intro and an enthusiastic snare rolling beat. This promising start however, is rudely interrupted by a vocalist, curiously only known as �Nick'.

So why keep your full name a secret�Hmm I imagine to prevent being hunted down and shot for the f***ing mess made of the vocals on this track.

I'm all for my hardcore/metal/emo/punk or whatever the f*** you wanna class this band as, (word on the street is that they �defy' all genres). But with Nicks much underdeveloped Satyricon sounding vocals (like listening to your pops hocking up phlegm in the morning) matched with backing vocals, a la the rest of the band, that show as much melody as a menopausal cat on Prozac, these songsters let the side down on �3 Words and 3,000 Tears'.

�The Uncertainty Of Sanity' is the biggest shock to the system as CTK mellow the f*** out through this eerie acoustic, complete with vocals with an aura of impressionable tenderness. Just don't consciously listen to the lyrics on this mini track, or you'll find their content matches up with the majority of the others on this debut � that of heartbreak and misery. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty much done with listening to depressing stories, hey � if your life that's bad why make it worse by listening to someone else's problems? God only knows I'm more interested in the literal meaning of �The Euphoria of Strangulation', after listening to such mind-numbingly boring, unoriginal lyrics.

�A Closing Chapter', almost merges from �The Uncertainty Of Sanity' with its deceiving acoustic softness and deadpanned vocals, pummelled over by crashes of cymbals, a stupidly fast hypersonic punk rock beat, and listen able (!) screamo-core gut-wrenching wails. One motherf***er of a hardcore track.

As the previous, �Take The Green Line To Heart Break' braggs a punk/hardcore tempo that wont fail to get you beat rockin' along. Perhaps even throwin' the odd devil horn along the way. And the integral sound is enough to be able to dismiss the groaningly contradictive line "so sick of writing songs with you in mind".

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Fan Speak:

Posted by Javo:
CTK is a Killer Metal punk hardcore mix ....Musically They�re one of the most dinamic bands i�ve heard in my life CTK rulz....