Summa
Communications
8.3
Synopsis:
A pretty impressive EP of British angular antagonistic techy hardcore that does more right than wrong.
Review:
With plenty of appeal to fans of The Minor Times, Architect, Engineer, Achilles (and thusly their requisite Botch, Coalesce, DEP influences), Summa’s (formerly known as HFM) six lengthy tracks deliver a stern and experimental take on mathy, staggering hardcore that while retaining all the genre's familiar trappings (hoarse frenzied roars, heaving, atonal riffage and caustic guitar tone), manages to be somehow a bit more unique than many of their US peers.
I cant quite put my finger on it, but maybe it’s the more developed, longer songs that sometimes drift into post rock hues and often heavier than usual heft (“Divergent Address”, “Elan Vital”). Or simply that their take on the fairly copy cat genre is performed with a loping, acidic confidence that makes for a pretty pummeling and challenging release (“Slight Right”, “Hasselhoff Vs. Bunnell”), that I haven’t heard from some of their more commercially minded US counterparts. Heck it might be that the band is English.
Either way when steady, diesel paced, lumbering closer “A Virtue Theory” relieves the violent burst of “Taught”, you get a sense that the band is approaching something great. Now if the British metal media can ignore them so they don’t get hyped as the next great British band (remember Pulkas?) and let them continue on their workman-like delivery, they might find themselves on one of the more recognized labels pretty soon-and deservedly so.
