The Breakdown
Northern metallers Kilonova exploded out of the North-East of England back in 2018 immediately making an instant impact wooing audiences at the Bloodstock Open Air Festival, are braced to drop their stunning new EP, ‘Moment of Clarity’. Born out of the pandemic the EP is the band’s most personal and genuinely savage music so far. Bassist, Joe Bambrick remarks about the EP: “‘Moment of Clarity’ is our mission statement. We’ve captured that lightning in a bottle of a Kilonova show. This is the sound that has always been in our heads. This is Kilonova”.
The fretboard ripping ‘Fragments’ slides into life with a burst of shred and a scream then its down to serious business with Ellen Hill confident vocals and a blistering speed fest. It’s relentless in its aural attack and such a killer track to introduce the band to new fans.
Just when you I thought Fragments was relentless the band come along and batter you around the head with the second track ‘Burned At The Snake’. A torrential outpouring of anger from Hill who goes all shouty and dominates the track. It’s an absolute monster. How the hell guitarist Jonny Sloan lays down the guitar work on this EP is beyond me. It’s faultless and played with such power clearly helped by the concrete slab sized backing of bassist Joe Bambrick.
Settling down with ‘Leeches And Parasites’ is not quite right as the band still crate a battering ram out of their music. The chorus has the hooks and over the a tortures verses thats matches the rest of the EP for the bands violent energy. Time to take a nod to drummer Steve Rouse who does an incredible job at destroying his drum kit with what sounds like tree trunks instead of drum sticks. His snare drum picks out the beat cutting through the dirge.
The hooky choruses continue with ‘Fruit Of The Poisoned Tree’ I am a big fan of what Hill brings to the band. The screechy gone full manic vocals on the verses and the clean sung chorus stand her out as a unique singer in this field. The track takes a moment to breathe and catches you by surprise as the full on attack whips you into submission.
A good old thrash intro kicks off the final track ‘Bleed By Example’ and we hear a band in top gear kicking the riffs out and Hill’s goes full psycho. Sloan pulls out an evil tinged solo that I can only complain about not being long enough. It’s a vicious attack and a clever title that tells you what you need to know about the track.
With a relentless dynamic that swings to the demonic and a killer backbone from Bambrick and Rouse Hill and Sloan can stretch themselves delivering a fresh sounding thrash metal with a hint of evil woven in. They manage to sit tight in their particular vein of metal yet make each track sound like its own entity all down to the unique style and talent of each member. Something that is a very rare find in a band. I may have just found my favourite band of 2023 and the best EP of the year.
Check out the bands track Leeches And Parasites, below:
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