Taking Their Time
Formed back in 2006, Didcot five-piece, K-Lacura have steadily been building a name for themselves touring with the likes of Glamour Of The Kill and Ghosts Of A Thousand. But instead of heading straight to the studio a few months after forming like so many bands seem to do now, the quintet have instead taken their time to establish their sound, to write songs which mean something to them and with their debut album, Portraits Of The Faceless it is only a matter of time before these songs find a wider audience.
Fast and ferocious with a melodic undercurrent that propels the track along with vigour, Beneath The Buried gets things underway with a bite that definitely aims to leave a mark. But this is an attack that is short and sweet, quickly making way for the brutal intensity of Carouse, a song which finds the Didcot metal crew brandishing passion fuelled vocals alongside the snarling, aggressive growls that brilliantly juxtapose one another to work in a strange harmony. Sure, it is a trait that has been employed before but K-Lacura manages to side step the pitfalls that many other bands make, creating a track that is both polished and raw to great effect. Luckily K-Lacura are far from one trick ponies and whilst the blue print of their style remains intact throughout, it does not dictate every beat allowing for a fluidity throughout the album; title track Portraits Of The Faceless has an almost nu-metal vibe that demands heads are instantly banging along, whilst the frantic pace of the track will have pulses pounding, whereas Receiving End Of Bullets charges with machine like drum beats with raging riffs wrapped around powerful vocals. Indeed the band are not prone to sticking to one formula; Fold takes things back to basics with a stripped back sound that propels Iann Gillian's vocals to the forefront whilst still retaining the force and vitality that embodies the band and makes Portraits Of The Faceless such an engaging listen.
Instead of jumping straight into the deep end and immediately releasing an album in their band's infancy, K-Lacura has done something many bands fail to do; they have taken their time. Having honed their skills and found their footing during their years touring, the Didcot lads have managed to establish a maturity beyond the band's actual age creating an album that is brimming with promise, demanding that it gets noticed, something that K-Lacura more than deserve.