Thursday, February 13, 2025
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Label: Geenger Records

Date: November 7th, 2024

There’s a rather loud talk of Reckoning’s first two EPs being scheduled to appear on a piece of plastic. A twelve inch vinyl, no less. One thing I hope out of this is that they scrap the cover for “The Maze”. I find it quite lazy, especially for a studio recording. Though a meaning can be found in the parallel postures of Mr. Ćurčija and the unknown hero in the crowd, in relation to the topic of “The Maze of My Own Making”, it still doesn’t do the trick for me.

On the other side, these four tracks stand proud, stand strong and are anything but lazy and without creative incentive. Three new tracks are complemented by an old acquaintance from the debut demo, “Soul Cadence”, now retouched and rerecorded especially for “The Maze”. The retouching in question is “cosmetical” and the track keeps its impact on the listener. As does the rest of the EP, for that matter. Reckoning applied the same recipe they’ve used for the past couple of years of their existence. Stylistically, it’s the same combination of heavy metal and hardcore they’ve reaped from the very beginning. A well known musical concept, established decades ago and done to eternity. In such a position, one needs to be able to deliver a distinct creative blow, in order to stand up and be counted. Now, Reckoning has done so on “This Is War”, but were they able to repeat it with the same success?

In short, yes! Okay, they had just three songs to compose, but still… “The Maze of My Own Making” is dark, overly slow, almost eerie in its musical and lyrical setting. And very catchy at that, particularly in the chorus which could easily be an invitation for mass singalongs. Along the same line, “Gehenna” starts off slowly, but instead of darkness you will get a menacing feeling which will reveal itself in a vengeful wrath soon after the song starts. “Maius Malum” surprises with an uneven time signature. It takes the task of making the song memorable even further, but Reckoning manages to emerge victorious.

“Soul Cadence” is, like I mentioned above, a two year old track that has already become a fan favorite. It’s stuck to this collection to further enhance it, though it would be a strong one even as a trio.

On a technical side of things, there’s nothing to complain. A top-notch production is a given. Citadela Sound Production is responsible for it. Musicianship is on the same level. Even if you might find guitar and drums picking up the expected genre patterns, there are a few moments on the bass front which might raise an eyebrow and, as cannot be overstated, a specific tone of Mr. Ćurčija’s voice.

With all of the above gathered, this is a thirteen minutes long recording without a discernible fault. Tough, heavy, but also emotional and thought provoking. A vinyl imprint is well deserved. Hopefully with a visual side to match the audio one.

 

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A musician by choice and a journalist by chance. However, much better at the latter one. Self taught reviewer for music and musical literature. Radio host when presented with an opportunity, video presenter when necessity calls for it. A future who-knows-what-else, since the curiosity and drive often surpass the possibilities and capability. But altogether a nice guy!