CoC : Konkhra - The Freakshow EP : Review

Konkhra - _The Freakshow EP_
(Diehard, 1999)
by: Paul Schwarz (4 out of 10)

If you bet your bottom dollar on the new Konkhra album being the be-all-and-end-all of the thrash/death fraternity this year, then God damn did -you- back the wrong horse. Konkhra have got about as close to doing a "Metallica" as I think they could've without at least passing by a mirror, taking a good hard look, and realising what they were doing. Okay, Anders' vocals are still relatively aggressive, despite a slight tone change, but the performances, and especially production, of the guitar "attack" and accompanying drums has about as much kick as Poison on a bad day. The songs are founded on basic, rocky groove-laced structures with Anders' now somewhat indistinct vocals over the top (he hasn't got enough Hetfield, Keenan, or what have you, in him to stand out sufficiently over such bare music) and the drums, guitar and bass chugging along rather uninterestingly below. "This EP is pretty fucking good... If you don't think so you're probably deaf or just plain stupid!", says the inlay. Well, I don't feel stupid, but maybe I am a bit deaf, 'cause I keep spinning this piece of plastic which says "Konkhra" on it, but all that comes out when I play it is bad B-side songs from the sessions for Corrosion of Conformity's _Deliverance_ where Pepper must have had a serious illness. In fact, I think something afflicted the whole band, because they decided it would be a great idea to churn out bare sounding and unconvincingly sung versions of Iron Maiden's "Prowler" and Motorhead's "Orgasmatron". Nope, I was right the first time: it is the new Konkhra EP, but it isn't very good at all, that's all.

(article published 7/7/1999)

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

ALBUMS
9/12/1999	P Schwarz	5	Konkhra - Come Down Cold
14/9/1997	P Azevedo	8	Konkhra - Weed Out the Weak