When looking for the perfect band name, it never hurts to delve into Finnish folklore, especially if you’re a skronky progressive hardcore band, right? Texas weirdos Kallohonka (presumably) took their name from an ancient Finnish ritual of putting a bear skull into a pine tree so that the bear’s soul can ascend to the heavens to be reborn. It was a way to honor the bear, a sacred, godly creature in that country’s lore. So there’s that. On their debut album, Lazer Blood, this Texas foursome—Amie Carson (vocals), James Magruder (bass/howls/auxiliary whatever), Jason Mullins (guitars), Alec Rabb (drums)—offer up a musical ritual that’s equal parts art damaged punk, carnivalesque grindcore, ’70s prog and some quirky version of metal. Carson’s primal, anguished wails provide an atonal tension to all eight, brief tracks. This is a debut you’ll surely remember.
Lazer Blood was recorded at Echo Lab in Argyle, Texas and was produced by Magruder and Matt Pence. It’s set for release on CD, vinyl and digitally via Memory Terminal Records on March 13. Place your preorder here or here. And if you’re in the Dallas area, check out the band’s record release show this Friday:
3/13 @The Doublewide, Dallas, w/ Oil Spill, Teal Stripe
Bassist James Magruder summed up the new album thusly:
“Forget yourself and this banal armageddon! Revel in ecstatic moronica until the tides wash us all away. Let the chaotic tinntinnambulations cleanse your fear. There is only one law as the hourglass silently wanes with granules finite: be fucking free. Don thy regalia and join us in the streets as we twist and turn in mad contortions.”
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