CoC : Konkhra - Weed Out the Weak : Review

Konkhra - _Weed Out the Weak_
(Diehard, 1997)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)

Not all good Nordic metal comes from the Sweden / Norway / Finland trio, as Konkhra's fourth full-length (that I know of) proves, even though there's only two Danish members left in the band. Yes, from Denmark they are, but after the _Facelift_ EP and _Spit or Swallow_ (the two albums with that blonde girl on the cover), only vocalist/guitarist Anders Lundemark and bassist Thomas Christensen remain as Danish members, as they chose to search outside Denmark for a guitarist and a drummer. The chosen ones were famous guitarist James Murphy (who also did most of the producing, mixing, and engineering) and former Machine Head drummer, Chris Kontos, whose drumming was recorded in California (together with the additional guitars), while the rest was recorded (and all mixed) in Europe. I'm not sure about the future, as this lineup most likely won't be repeated, but at least they have done _Weed Out the Weak_ (notice the subtle sly in "weed out" / "without"), and the result is worthy of those involved in it. Slick, strong, dynamic, this pack of crushing riffs, lead guitars courtesy of Murphy, and great drumming by Kontos won't let you rest for one minute, my favourite track being "Misery", closely followed by "Time Will Heal" and "Melting". It's a shame that the vocals aren't just good old death grunts, as Lundemark's voice in _WOtW_ ranges from a slightly harsher Rob Flynn to something near a death grunt, and while they're good enough, they don't really add anything extra to such a powerful instrumental sound (thanks to the very well polished and strong production). _WOtW_ may not have that "Northern Europe feel" to it at all, but it's still impressively well done.

(article published 14/9/1997)

CHATS
2/5/1997	P Schwarz	Konkhra: Konkhring the Weak

ALBUMS
12/9/1999	P Schwarz	5	Konkhra - Come Down Cold
7/7/1999	P Schwarz	4	Konkhra - The Freakshow EP