Earmined

I got this CD from my wife a few years ago, listened to it and found it too quirky at the moment and put it aside again. Then a year or so passed and she urged me to try it again, I did.

One can't even begin to describe the style which KONG is playing, because it doesn't exist yet, they invented it. It's labeled here as progressive metal but that's a bit rough, try adding some industrial/techno sounds with hypnotic psychedelic rock. And not the old boring Pink Floyd psychedelic, I'm talking Ozric Tentacles psychedelic here. Then mix in some heavy metal guitars and a rave beat (not too hard) and forget about vocals. That's as close as you can get to describing their genre.


EARMINeD really grows on you since you never had any stuff like this, it's a bit hard to appreciate at first. But don't be scared, it's not like Dysrhythmia, these are all definite songs, though they transition nice into each other and are all quite unique in their own way. KONG seriously knows how the keep the groove while trying too sound not too experimental. The tempo usually is the same but it's the guitar and samples that are played alone or together which builds up every song to a great climax. If you're new to KONG, start with EARMINeD, just like Mr. Bungle's California, it is the most listenable of the bunch and will give you a great insight in their unscrupulous minds.


And no, it's not metal, but harder than rock with heavy metal elements. Though every album sounds different from another, EARMINeD is really a final phase in the KONG legacy, they did come out with another album called 'ƒREAKÇONTRØL' but that's more dance/techno that rock/metal. This is the perfect mix between dance/techno and rock/metal, and not in an industrial way like Pain or Rammstein, more like a mix between Ozric Tentacles and Dysrhythmia with a heavy overtone like Karma to Burn.


The songs are quite catchy too and you'll be humming them for a long time. I would say this music comes as close to an LSD trip as possible. If you're hooked you will find that no other band even remotely resembles KONG and you'll be so dissapointed to hear that KONG split up 7 years ago.


Maybe I can make your day, since May 2007 some band members agreed to try recording an album again (it itched) and are planning to release the beast somewhere in 2008.


Oh, and did I mention that they played quadraphonicly live? Meaning they surrounded their audience, each member had their own little mini stage with light effects ready to hypnotize the crowd.


You didn't hear it from me.