Karōshi The End of the Illusion of Freedom LP
Not being totally encyclopedic with Japanese culture, I had no idea what “karōshi” meant before listening to this humble and overlooked record. It can be translated roughly as “overwork death,” so basically a poor soul who dies from working too much (which is pretty fucking horrible, indeed). Who said punk couldn’t be educational? You can thank KARŌSHI for this trivia-worthy piece of wisdom. They are a studio project with Brian from DISAFFECT and SCATHA, as well as two members of the legendary ULTIMO GOBIERNO from Spain, a fairly unlikely collaboration. I have to admit I was a little suspicious and not particularly optimistic, but this is really good and quite unique in its own way. KARŌSHI plays somber hardcore punk with a metal influence, but they rely more on anarcho-punk angst and anger rather than the brute force, perms, and punishing heaviness you would commonly associate with metal punk. This is punk rock first and foremost. I like the political nature of the lyrics and how melancholy the album sounds at times. The stronger point of The End of the Illusion of Freedom lies in the groovy, epic, mid-paced metal punk numbers reminiscent of AMEBIX or AXEGRINDER in the writing, but using the more progressive, psychedelic “post-crust” mood and tones of bands like BAD INFLUENCE or ZYGOTE. The faster, ’90s-flavoured anarcho-thrash songs are pretty basic, classically executed; DISAFFECT or ΝΑΥΤΙΑΣ come to mind. Overall, you could argue the production is lacking in intensity and impact, that there are some slip-ups here and there, and it could all sound better, especially in the light of modern production, but then I think the LP has a charm and a je ne sais quoi that makes me come back to it and that most bands are unable to create. The guitar work is brilliant here, there is always a catchy melody, a hook that makes the song stick with the listener. It pushes all the right buttons and I did not expect to like it that much.