DEMO/EP ROUNDUP - Adorn 16 and Khiis

The Mighty Decibel once again delves into the EP, single, mini-album and demo underground ...

We start off today's journey in Brooklyn, New York (by way of Baku, Azerbaijan) with some experimental black metal from one-man band ADORN 16. Personally, this reviewer usually steers clear of this sub/sub genre, preferring the evil pleasure of traditional blackness instead. However, the two-sided single offered here was aggressive enough in nature to appease, while having a unique sound that warranted consideration. Both tracks start out with snippets of foreign language conversations before the main riff takes hold, over which the vocalist gurgles and pontificates (in Azerbaijani?). The main premises are traditional mid-tempo black metal, but are rendered vaguely mechanistic that, along with the foreign language utilized, gives it its unique flavour. Interesting. (7)

Next up to abuse our ears is Oakland, California's KHISS with their Bezoar mini-album (Bandcamp) consisting of 9 tracks in 20 compact minutes. Delivered searing hot and with utmost conviction, this is one of those tried and true hardcore punk albums that sounds like a d-beat freight train coming at you with a pissed-off bloke yelling in your ear as to why you deserve to be flattened mercilessly. Think of a nimble version of The Exploited, one with more breakdowns and better guitar solos. Consistently effective throughout all of the tracks, this is one of the better non-full lengths of the year. Feels good to finally be able to say ... Khiis rules! (8)