Japanische Kampfhorspiele – Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt

[circus_brimstone]

Japanische Kampfhorspiele – Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt
Bastardized Recordings – September 6th, 2004
By Jason Jordan

I turned on the CD player not knowing what to expect. In recent months, though, Japanische Kampfhorspiele – or JaKa – have made a name for themselves in the realm of grindcore. I, for one, can testify that the group deserves accreditation. Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt is an excellent album that should be able to rest alongside Terrifyer and Exit with relative ease.

First of all, the album contains so many interesting traits, which are dispersed precisely to gain attention. From the pleasant, brutal introduction of “Verpackt in Plastik” to the uniqueness and redundancy of “Was Meinst Du?”, JaKa display their creative adeptness. Stick around for “Verpackt in Plastik” because it’s indicative of what the record, as a solid entity, has in store. I love the 1:10 minute mark when the drums comprise the forefront, along with sound samples containing German speech. Screams and death/grind vocalizations appear within the aforementioned track too. “Zimmer 2.407b” starts with some formidable drumwork, and traverses quality-laden ground. “Abflussbestattung” is in the same vein. “Es Lernt Sich Von Selbst” features the longest pauses I’ve ever heard between musical interjections. Concerning the latter, the average wait time is six seconds. Want to hear something similar? Check out Training for Utopia’s “New York City is Overrated” for the same, general idea. In any case, “Es Lernt Sich Von Selbst” is very addictive. The drumming, structured pauses, and innovative riffage should be enough to attract fans of all genres. “Wir Werden Gott” and “Du Warst Mein Ritalin” continue the high standard, as does “8.0.” “Koscher,” on the other hand, is unthinkably slow for JaKa for about forty seconds, then the speed differentiates from thereon out.

I found myself vehemently enjoying all the material on Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt. Also, terms such as vivacious and refreshing definitely apply to Japanische Kampfhorspiele. It’s not abstruse: go get this now!

9/10

Official Japanische Kampfhoerspiele website
Official Bastardized Recordings website

 

[Dr. Abner Mality]

Very cool album, one of my faves from last year. I like the way they refuse to use tired horror/political/movie samples in favor of bizarre bits of German conversation and low-key electronic noises. Combined with their strange artwork, it gives me the impression that JaKa is more of an art project that just happens to use grindcore/extreme metal as a template.

Very good review, agree with every word!