Concrete Winds – Concrete Winds

Concrete Winds is a strange name for a band. It even feels like an immediate contradiction. Perhaps that was the plan all along because the band’s sound is absolute musical debauchery. It’s as if you take The Dillinger Escape Plan and Pyrrhon. So, you know this is going to be unbearable for 99.9% of the human population, but you’re not normal. You’re a freak of nature who enjoys discovering the most extreme music that hell can provide, which is why Concrete Winds might offer something for you, lunatic. Time to find out!

There’s no way to say it nicely: Concrete Winds has only one vibe and one speed! It’s the equivalent of drinking four energy drinks, plus a few cups of coffee, and a bit of magical “white powder” to power up just a bit more, just in case. If you’re wondering if there’s a crash, the answer is yes. Concrete Winds crashes in such a chaotic way that it could be the perfect soundtrack for a massive car wreck on the highway that also ends with a massive fire. I understand there’s a high level of technical proficiency here, but Concrete Winds is mostly about the madness and its uncanny ways.

I could tell you about the brain-drilling riffs, but that’d be an understatement. Concrete Winds has a structure that resembles one long track that never stops contorting and mutating in disgusting ways. It shouts at you with complete disregard for your feelings. Abstract Metal should be the sub-genre for albums like this because they’re trying to portray… well, I don’t know what, but it definitely sounds hysterical. Also, look at that cover art; it looks like someone did a nice drawing and then gave it to a two-year-old with crayons to “help out.”

So, how about the downsides? Well, I know I said most human beings won’t be able to endure anything by Concrete Winds, but beyond that obvious point, the album’s biggest setback is that there’s only one type of insanity going on here. There’s next to no dramatic mood changes, which can make it jarring or even a bit numbing for those who do manage to endure the pummeling. Concrete Winds has a strong jazz influence, like many other “abstract” albums, but it would’ve been nice to find more jazz in form and not only in spirit.

If you enjoy challenges and hate soft interludes, then Concrete Winds has crafted something that defies your expectations and will throw you into a blender of pain and anxiety. Sounds exciting, right? Just be aware that that’s it—there are no mushy feelings or sensitive tracks here. It’s just unforgiving and indigestible avant-garde death metal that laughs at most human decency and common sense. For the masochists out there, we might have an album this year that will cause you enough pain.

Label: Sepulchral Voice Records

Release date: 30 August, 2024

Website: https://www.facebook.com/aggressivenoisetorment

Country: Finland

Score: Getting high on detergent, or 3.5/5.0