Kevlar – Agitators of the Mind – CD/Download –
2021 – Unrest Productions - UNPRDCD16
https://kampfunrest.bandcamp.com/music
https://vonsechsundachtzig.bandcamp.com/album/permission-to-die
https://www.facebook.com/Kevlar-128124803932189
https://soundcloud.com/kevlar-unit
The duo Kevlar have been around
since 2010, Agitators of the mind is their 5th release and their 4th
album since 2017s New Fears New Fights. I have properly never heard Kevlar
before this, but they do have a stellar reputation in the UK where they are
based.
The sound is immediately massive
as big, controlled drones with infected distortion and whistling feedback all weave
into each other to make complexed sound textures. The use of noise is precise
with each shift in sound moving the hostile feelings radiated as vocals are
shouted over it the top of Go Forth. There is a favoured use of pulsating noise
throughout the album, that creates a menacing throb - the vocal works to
deliver the attack on each track, sometimes the sharper noises aid in this. Tracks
vary between 4 and 6 minutes, they are all concise and straight to the point.
There is a female vocal or
sample combined with the male vocal on Mind Agitators that really delivers, the
track is agitated and panicked. The doubled or echoed vocal on Mirrored rages
as dragging electronics and synth prodding create haunted passages – there are nasty
bits of Death Industrial tinkering that breathe menace over the vented sermons.
Moral Ferment vomits death over the listener as ugly electronics drown the
vocal to a gargled rant. The electronics fart over distant sirens and at this
point the album really is at war with itself as the vocal gains clarity.
Promised land has a bigger
synth sound, that conjures big landscapes and distorted vocal, the vocal resharpens
and blunts itself continuously – the pulsation on this one is exact and lethal.
Rope builds on this for sound, the throb of Kevlar’s sound is restrained and
the distortion and warped electronics take the lead here – the vocal is
expertly buried within it. The use of electronic is at its best and busiest here
as the control is eased off a little.
Kevlar uses power Electronics
to a high standard through sheer disciplined, precise use of sound and how the
vocal is used. It encompasses these methods to deliver threatening, tense works
that never let go or explode – they just radiate bad vibes, anxiety and menace.
There is no shock or pointless extremity, each track is straight to the point
with no filler or fat. I am glad I heard this album; it is an excellent piece work.
Coventry Soul - 2021,
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