KRIEGSHÖG – Hardcore Hell EP 7″

Reviews from Maximum RocknRoll and others

I am almost left speechless on how fucking good this record is. the ultra-hardcore brutal legion needs to maim and murder to get this record ‘cuz it fucking kills an I heard it is already long gone. OK, what does it sound like, you may ask? Driving, fist-pumping hardcore with loads of distortion, ferocious drumming, and vocals that drive right through my skull. Side one paints a picture for you by having some war-time sample – ya know, gunfire and commotion followed by a six-year-old girl’s blood-curdling scream – then in comes the audio assault. Killer! (Martin Sorrondeguy, Maximum Rocknroll No. 300)

Bombastic hardcore from these Tokyo, Japan thrashers. Full-on distortion, blow-out bass lines and thundering drums blast out of the speakers. Vocals that remind me of LIP CREAM and THE STALIN. Music that has the noisiness of EXCLAIM meets DISCLOSE yet it still retains an underlying structure of solid music. Not for timid ears because this stuff is not pretty. This is the second press issued out of Germany. This first press, I read, sold out fast. The way things sound, I think this release will also go out of print quickly. (Donofthedead, Razorcake No. 48)

The record also made a lot of the Best-of-2008 playlists in Maximum RocknRoll No. 210 (March 2009). Here is what the critics had so say. Cissie Scurlock: I’ve already stated that Hardcore Hell is one of the most intense pieces of music that I’ve heard in a long time. KRIEGSHÖG is best listened to alone and at full volume, so you can revel in the crazed, dense sounds. It continues to get better with every listen. Martin Sorrondeguy: Drum roll, please…. This here is the best fucking record of the year!! I have abused my neighbors, lovers, and friends with the insanity that drips from this piece of plastic. I can’t get enough of this record. It has brought chills to my spine, made me blow a speaker, and acted as the mental soundtrack to my imaginary drive-by-shootings at last year’s Republican Convention. Fucking ridiculously good. Golnar Nikpour: AUUUURGGGHH!!!!! This record is sick, sick, sick. I had to wait for an attainable version, since the Japanese press sold out faster than Martin can find a date in a laundromat, but it was worth the wait. Vicious, unheard of sounds make this record seem like it’s from another fucking planet. Best hardcore EP in years!?! Andrew Underwood: KRIEGSHÖG  is on fire. They can do no wrong. Justin Briggs: Hands down the best new band on Earth. Perfectly executed, noisy D-beat crust done the way only the Japanese can. I don’t really know what else to say — it’s so hard to explain perfection. And while I picked this EP for my list, everything KRIEGSHÖG put out this year (split-EP with DOG SOLDIER and a split 7″ with DEATHTRIBE [see next year’s list]) was phenomenal, I listened to Hardcore Hell the most. I am stoked for way more material from this killer band. Paco Mus: “Play loud and die” it reads the back sleeve of this hardcore monster. And that’s just what I did, many, many times as a matter of fact. I am still alive though. Hailing from Japan, KRIEGSHÖG continues the tradition of FRIGÖRA or FRAMTID. Japanese noisy hardcore highly influenced by the early Swedish bands, that is. KRIEGSHÖG ‘s recording makes them sound more like ZOUO than most Swedish bands, mainly because the agonizing vocal delivery. The whole record sounds tense with the aggression and intensity levels in the red as soon as the war samples that open the A-side are over and remain that way for the entire duration of the EP. They also released a split 7″ with DEATHTRIBE that is just as good. Vinnie La Russa: Tell me there’s a band that sounds like KURO and ANTI-CIMEX and I’ll sell you my left (last) kidney. Read about them on a message board, ordered fifteen copies of this single for my burgeoning distro, received three and the rest of my money — all sold out. Gave one to MRR for the library, one to Blind Justin, kept one for myself and the rest is Popsike history. Not sure on the accuracy of the original description but I don’t fucking care; this record is pure insanity. The B-side starts with bombs, guns, and crying. Switch to the instruments and it’s feedback and noise with everything in the red. “Play Loud and Die!” Thank you, my sentiments exactly.