Seven years after their previous record, Kitshickers are back with yet another crowd-funded album, a model that luckily seems to work really well for the guys! As is tradition at this point, The Boarwin Hunt is of course a concept album and this time around the band deals with digital worlds and the immersiveness, good and bad, that comes with them. So, pick up your controller and join me!
Since the predecessor the band parted ways with their drummer, and when they announced that two members of The Majestic Unicorns From Hell, the bassist and guitarist, would be joining the band as drummer and third guitarist respectively, my interest was definitely piqued.
While the new drummer is not completely new to the craft, he has less experience with hitting the skins, so naturally the parts are a little less complex in their nature than what you might expect, but he makes up for that in attitude and feeling in my opinion. Especially since the songwriting of the record itself is much more atmospheric, for lack of a better word, and the more basic drum patterns definitely make it easier to get lost in the music.
The third guitarist also adds a new layer of depth to the music and brings a riffier sound to the table that complements the sound in every aspect. Ranging from very groovy parts to, almost, black metal riffs, it’s really hard not to like the guitar work here.
At this point, I feel like writing about the singer’s vocal performance is almost redundant, because the guy can basically do it all, no further comments needed. However, he does have a few new tricks up his sleeve for these fifty-six minutes, for example: during the sixth track, he hits us with shouted vocals that are somewhat reminiscent of Accept, just much less annoying, and they fit the instrumentals perfectly!
There is one thing that confused me a bit, though. But for that I have to briefly explain the track listing: technically there are four songs, but the first two songs are split into five and three tracks respectively. The final two songs are kept whole and each of those songs goes above the eleven minute mark; so far so good. My only gripe, however, is that the second to last song is a super atmospheric and fairly soft instrumental song that in my opinion would have been the perfect album closer, instead. But with the track listing as is, it almost feels like filler to me, sadly.
All in all, The Boarwin Hunt will definitely satisfy fans and might actually be the most accessible record to people who are not yet into Kitshickers! So make sure to check out the album when it releases this Friday, December 1st and if you have no plans yet, move your butt to Kulturfabrik where the band will host a mini-festival as their release show! In the meantime, you can find more info on their Facebook page!