The Autokinoton

You wouldn't think a band could do a lot of damage in the span of just five songs, but with its eponymous debut EP, the Autokinoton packs enough corrosive force to make most hardcore bands in town whimper in envy. Still, it isn't all bloodletting: Rather than rely on the desensitizing smack of rapid-fire riffs, the quintet locks into churning grooves and slow-simmering buildups that give ample room for Joe Triscari's wounded growl to roam freely, frightened and enraged. The echoing, atmospheric lulls in "Sine Waves and False Signals" and "Upon the Burning of the Human Compass" recall City of Caterpillar, or even Neurosis's Through Silver in Blood, even if the superimposed chants of "Destroy, grieve, rebuild" in the coda of "Sine Waves" lack the intensity of their instrumental counterpart, sounding more forced and awkward than apocalyptic. Overall, though, the group's jarring, gripping formula makes The Autokinoton a work not just of brutality, but of strange beauty.