Kill By Mouth - Necessary Evil

I’ll be honest, Wales hasn’t produced much in the way of music that has managed to get my heart racing with excitement. Obviously at the risk of my offending my Welsh readers out there I wish to stress that there are obvious exceptions to this such as Mclusky, Dub War and Green Gartside of Scritti Politti, but otherwise Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Stereophonics, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Tom Jones, Super Furry Animals, Shirley Bassey and poundland Elvis Shakin’ Stevens aren’t exactly on my playlist. The heavier end of the spectrum doesn’t fare that much better with the likes of The Blackout, Funeral For a Friend, Bullet for My Valentine and er Lostprophets, yep less said the better.

I’m hopeful then that Swansea’s Kill By Mouth (Cassar - Vocals & Guitar, Lee Jones - Lead Guitar, Richard Page – Bass, Gregg Stockdale - Drums) will follow in the footsteps of talented countrymenas Phil Campbell (Motorhead, Bastard Sons) and Budgie. Their debut release Necessary Evil came out in March so I am a little late with this review but better late than never so the saying goes...

‘Cardinal Point’ kicks things off with some late 80’s Thrash along the lines of Vio-lence, Sacred Reich and Exhorder. There are some very cool grooves on display and an ultra-aggressive Vocal style reminiscent of Exodus’ Rob Dukes. Unlike those aforementioned bands however, there are some really nice melodic textures with a dark Gothic hue that makes this a little more interesting than the never-ending stream ofuninspired post Power Trip outfits we have been inundated with in recent years. An impressive start! ‘228’ has a more crossover vibe and knowing Lee’s penchant for Punk/Hardcore this is hardly surprising. The riffs rip along the lines of latter period D.R.I. such as on Four of a Kind and Thrashzone, especially tracks such as ‘Manifest Destiny’ and ‘Beneath the Wheel’. What’s also evident is Cassar’s harsher approach to singing which betrays more of a Black and Death Metal influence, though thankfully it never ventures into full on over the top silliness like a lot of the frontmen in that genre (Chris Barnes, take a bow).

‘Johnny Volcano’ starts things slowly with some doomy atmospherics before unleashing some truly sick Obituary type goodness. That band along with Morbid Angel were always one of better bands in Extreme Metal and there are moments here which recall the Tampa legends, especially on records such as World Demise (my personal favourite). Slayer also came to mind, the mid-tempo attack of Seasons in the Abyss and maybe even the controversial and unfairly maligned Diabolus in Musica. In fact this track transports me right back to the late 90’s, a standout and personal favourite. Finally ‘Love Lost’ positively bounces along with a middle eastern feel that reminds one of System of a Down and an ultra dry drum sound straight out of And Justice for All (this is a definite compliment by the way). There’s a dystopian hopelessness present too of which Killing Joke would be proud, in fact I was reminded of that band’s heavier post 2000 material only without Jaz Coleman’s eccentric persona and delivery. Whichever way you cut it its still a fantastic way with which to conclude the EP.

Despite not being the biggest Metal guy in the world, what appealed to me were the record’s cerebral qualities, both musically and lyrically. It eschews the cliches of the genre and there’s enough subtle variation in terms of genres/styles to keep you interested throughout its short running time (well it's an EP after all). Highly recommended.