Reviews

Believe in Punk

Kuebiko / Military Shadow split EP

This split smokes! Two savage, snarling cuts from Tokyo’s MILITARY SHADOW on one side, and four utterly deranged bangers from Boston’s KUEBIKO on the flip. MILITARY SHADOW offers a pummeling take on the tried-and-true hardcore formula, reminiscent of CRUDE in the way that the guitar leads provide extra velocity and charm. Thick, meaty distortion reigns supreme, with each song hewing close to traditional song structures, but excelling where it counts by blasting the speakers to shreds with guttural howls and delectable riffage. KUEBIKO is also drawing from the deep well of Japanese hardcore, but their take is even more frenzied and unhinged. Their tracks are quick, blazingly concise, and have some exceedingly demented vocals. Like ZOUO on acid or HUMAN GAS on psilocybin. Play this for your straight-laced friends and laugh maniacally as they grimace.

Ye.Stem Ye.Stem LP

From Warsaw, YE.STEM is here with their monster sixteen-track debut LP. This follows a 2021 EP which was also self-titled, and all four of those songs made the cut here. As a listener not native to Poland, the lyrics are lost on me—but that’s OK, I enjoy hearing the energy and anger without context. I couldn’t find much on the band or its members, but I imagine there were other projects that preceded this given their seasoned stage performance from the few videos I found. Lots of whole-gang sing-alongs, snaking guitar riffs, gut-busting bass, and ceaseless drumming, keeping the energy high the whole album through. They do slow down a bit on parts of “Tatiana” and “Szela,” the latter being my favorite track, even though they trade in their fast-driving mold for melancholic reflection (sonically, anyhow, if not in lyrical content). While it’s a lot to bite off, this album does have its gems.