Customer Reviews

Left in Kowloon

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Premonitions of War' "Left in Kowloon" is a thing of rare beauty. From the mysterious urban visuals to the cinematic lyrics, the packaging is clean, dark, and abstract. But the true beauty lies in the brutality underneath. While the album is on Victory, a label associated with hardcore (and more recently with metalcore), it has much more in common with the grindcore of Pig Destroyer or Napalm Death. Fueled by downtuned riffs, crushing blastbeats, and roaring vocals, 12 tracks blaze by in just over 26 minutes. The first 5 tracks are minute-long mercy killings; the astounding "Black Den" then slows the pace with haunting, sludgy riffs. After the industrial ambience of "Cables Hum Overhead," the madness resumes. The latter half of the album adds tempo changes and Sabbath-esque grooves, while spaciously dissonant chords throughout lift this band above the "-core" pack. Rarely has such brutality had such depth.

On an angry scale of one to ten (ten being the angriest) PREMONITIONS OF WAR'S forthcoming CD, "Left in Kowloon" would be somewhere around an eleven. Their brutally infuriating blend of metalcore and Death Metal is like something not of this world. Simple words can't describe the level of intensity these guys have achieved in this corrosive, remorseless album. This was yet another CD under the Victory label that assaults your nerve ending from beginning to end. Music of this variety has the tendency to be somewhat unnerving because of its unyielding characteristics but this particular album has an addiction factor due to an overwhelming application of creativity and diversity. This is not your run of the mill "deathcore" album containing the "if-then" orchestration either. Their transitional scales are intelligently planned illustrating an ability to be sporadic but not perplexing. The crushing mosh styled beats are pressed against a sonic blast of speedy synchronizations. Every member in the band is obviously working their ass off together in this garish series of songs. If you had to make some comparisons, you could look to other bands like UNSANE, SOILENT GREEN and NEUROSIS. Don't assume too much though and quickly package them as another Deathcore posse because you would be selling them short of what they are really about. Generally speaking, this CD is worth being a part of your coveted music collection.

As with the majority of the metal releases coming from Victory, you will find an amalgam of hardcore, grind, and metal lightly tossed together and served up on your average plate of aggression, but unlike the rest Premonitions of War focus mainly on the grind aspect (vocally and structure wise to be specific), and I'll be damned if they don't pull it off nicely. To be absolutely honest, this album is completely crushing, in that beat-the-hell-outa-whomever-is-close kind of way. The sound comes from the fantastic guitar work. By not trying to pull off anything overly technical with the guitars, `Left in Kowloon' keeps the aggression that it could have easily lost; though at times references to A Life Once Lost and Meshuggah can be quite obvious. The vocal abilities are quite good, referencing the great Pg. 99 on far more than one occasion. Speed plays an integral role in the feeling of the record. The time changes are fairly constant through the songs; some being ragingly fast tracks, others moving along at a more "normal" pace. Fans of Embrace Today, All Out War, and Glass Casket would be well advised to pick this up. And just in case I have been too vague; this album is heavy, grinding, crushing.

While I'll admit I am not too familiar with POW's previous albums, I can't imagine them being much better than this lackluster release. As a whole "Left In Kowloon" leaves much left to be desired. While I won't deny the album of its intensity and onslaught agression, this record feels very incomplete. My biggest gripe is the length of the album. Don't get me wrong here, however, as I have no problem with short(er) albums(Poison The Well-Opposite Of December and Hatebreed-Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire come to mind--two great albums) but clocking in at around 26 minutes, "Left In Kowloon" comes across feeling very incomplete. Just as the songs begin to pick up they end abruptly. The material that is written is decent but if they could of tacked on a few more minutes to the total length of the album I feel "Left In Kowloon" would have a much more fuller sound and feel to it. I understand POW is trying to cut out the BS and go straight for your throat, but that doesn't mean that it is executed to perfection. The sad truth is that the water POW is treading has been treaded by many other bands before and they do it better. I still can find good in just about every album, however, and I will say that both "The Octopus" and "Dim Light District" are above and beyond the highlight tracks of the album. If your looking for a good quality band with a new release off Victory I suggest you skip this release and pick up "The Silent Circus" by Between The Buried And Me.

This is one of the most brutal, insane records to come out in recent memory. This album is pure grinding hardcore with songs that are barely over a minute. This is seriously some of the most intense stuff you're ever gonna hear, don't let the fact that they are on Victory Records fool you, this stuff is brutal. Brutal drums, brutal vocals, and songs that make you just want to kill someone are all this cd has to offer, and they offer it in great taste. If you are a fan of Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death or are basically a fan of grind or heavy music in general you owe yourself to check this out. If you like music so insane it is hard to comprehend, check out these new champions, Premonitions of War.

Left in Kowloon is the most brutal and heavy record I may ever own. These are the most lean, fat free metal songs around. Imagine the most brutal metal record you own... take away all the fluffy junk and leave only the heavy and brutal breakdowns and riffs....that is Premonitions of War. Each song outdoes the next in intensity and creativity. Rarely do you find any melody, except for "The Octopus", which is simply amazing.

Not for the emo-core kids who want to hear about bleeding and broken hearts. Premonitions Of War tears out your heart, throws it against the wall and walks away.

Some of us have better things to do than listen to trendy nu-metal records all day. Luckily, the world can instead choose to embrace (if it chooses too) the greatest authentic metal band in the business right now - Premonitions of War. I mean that both seriously and as a joke. On one hand, metal is something of a self-acknowledged joke on the popular music landscape, and that's fine. This album can be hilarious if you're in the right mood and it's perfect for first-person shooter video games. On the other hand, the agility of the playing must be respected, as well as just how much this band gets done in 26 minutes. No, it is not too short. I hate people who make comments like that about albums. This album is about quality, not quantity, and Premonitions of War know better than to wear out their welcome just to add filler to the disc. Good for them. And good for us. If 26 minutes of this type of music isn't enough to terrorize you, than you will never be affected by a half hour of music. My favorite track is "Layover." The only track that sucks is "Cables Hum Overhead," which tries too hard to be dark and mysterious, coming off as self-parody instead. Yet when they don't try to be mysterious (as on the other tracks) or cater to the so-called "metal" trends of the day, they can do no wrong.

I think one of the other reviewers hit the nail on the head when he said that this album is too short and the songs end just when they're picking up steam. I don't own the album, I was considering buying it when I was in Hot Topic the other day and listened to it at one of their listening stations. I listened to the whole thing while leafing through a magazine and while I was kind of half-digging their sound, I couldn't help thinking that $16.99 was too much for this disc, considering how short it was. True, I've paid just as much, if not more, for other cds as short as this, like Slayer's "Reign in Blood" or anything from Deicide, but for some reason they stood out where this one lacks. I believe in trimming the fat, but they trimmed too much and there wasn't really much left that I haven't already heard. There were some moments of brilliance that stood out, but I just wish they lingered on them a little more.

This album is chaos is one of the best metalcore albums of the year
yes is short 27:46 somthing minutes but it rules is fast great riffs
and breakdowns.go get it