85%
DisKust have been kicking dust up and working pits up around Australia for the last few years. Drip feeding singles here and there of their output to keep their hungry fans sedated, finally the band have decided they are ready to drop an EP.
The first thing to get out of the way are the comparisons with early Slipknot: yes there are similarities, and it could make for easy fodder. But this is an Australian band, and with that comes the small unique twists that every artist from this country seems to throw in the mix.
The opening track is there merely to set the mood with its quietly played piano refrain giving way to a thumping undercurrent before first track proper Splinter exposes you to its quieter side early and building up towards the ultimate crescendo of modern metal/nu-metal that worms its way into the ears with its overtly melodic tactics.
The melodic opening Cut-Throat comes straight out of 1999 with a power and angst that hasn’t been replicated in the last 20 years. This isn’t a negative, there is something here that makes the mix of old and nu (geddit!?) combine to a snarling beast that takes no prisoners. I have had the fortune of seeing the band play this live two or three times now, and this is the kind of thing that makes the human body move in waves.
DisKust keeps this focused energy through Resurfaced with a renewed focus on the fine balance between melody and aggression with a meaty breakdown to keep knees aching. A wave of synth comes out of nowhere for the opening of Kronic, pulsing along, building the energy towards what might just be the heaviest track on the album. Its follow up Broken is the only slight buckle in the band’s heavy armour with similarities the previous tracks’ formula exposing it as a one that could be marked as predictable, although passable enough.
Penultimate track Dead World keeps the formula wheels spinning along fine and heavy, but it is the closer track that needs your attention. Put in pride of place, closing this set Burning Alive shows a softer side of the band. Gone is the bluster, replaced with softly sung vocals and clean guitars, yet there is still heavy peppered amongst the clean approach. This side of the band needs to be shown to draw in a wider audience, although won’t be to everyone’s liking.
And that is DisKust in a nutshell really. They won’t attract the most elite of metal fans, but that isn’t who they are aiming at. The music contained here sails close to early nu-metal, something that will always have detractors, but with a heavier modern edge and without the swagger that the original came to be known and derided for. Beyond all that, this is another home grown Aussie band creating world beating music.
