Kruagre
750cc Export Fear
6.5
After being less than floored by Avoid’s Into Languish and Decay, I had absolutely zero expectations coming into 750cc Export Fear, the debut full length from Rotten to the Core labelmate and fellow Belgians, Kruagre. And after hearing the silly intro track “Nothing Will,” in which the band screams “Nothing will prepare you for what you will hear!” and the subsequent four tracks of fairly standard old-school grind, I was still less than impressed. Then out of nowhere the sludgy, dissonant riff that opens “Walker Stalker” grabbed my attention and didn’t let me off the hook until the end of closer “Stanley Clawhammer.”
To clarify, the opening tracks of this album are not bad, they just weren’t enough to intrigue me right off the bat, but rest assured the album kicks into gear and never really lets energy lull through its 18 tracks. Kruagre’s sound on 750cc is based around a healthy helping of loose, old-school grind heavily influenced by Repulsion as well as some more recent crust elements. The high/low vocal mix reminds me of older Gorerotted when they had a rawer, crusty sound, while the riffs stay on the simple side for the most part with lots of power chords and basic progressions, although they are tight, well-written, and are very effective for their sound. From a songwriting standpoint, the songs are all in the same vein but have enough identity to keep the album interesting through its duration. For instance, the above-mentioned crushing mid-paced riffs of “Walker Stalker,” the buzzing blackened guitars of “Gaszraum” and “Stanley Clawhammer,” the strange melodic breaks in “SS,” the short burst of solo/lead playing in “Fear No One.” Hell, even the two brief samples they chose are nice and help break up the album (“Hail to the king, baby!” from Army of Darkness and “I am in intense pain, Pinky” from Pinky and the Brain).
Taking into account my initial hesitance, 750cc Export Fear ended up being a very pleasant surprise. The album has a fun and loose feeling that I find endearing because they do it without getting sloppy or going overboard with silliness and samples. Underground grindheads will dig the shit out of Kruagre, especially if they lean towards the crusty, old-school side.
