Album Review: Capsule - No Ghost

Capsule formed out of the Punk and post hardcore scene in Miami back in 2005 and are about to release their second full length ‘No Ghost’ to the ears of anyone brave enough to take the sheer onslaught. This certainly isn’t for the faint hearted and is filled with such aggression and anger. And I’m not talking "spitting the dummy out the pram"; this is far, far down the road of "I’m going to rip your fucking head off!"

Yet saying that, as this band have developed, so has their musical spectrum, tracks like ‘Isn’t Us’ slow the tempo and offer up a more progressive approach, spanning over a good five minutes that rattle off the chains of two minute limitless flurries pure aggression. Something that opener ‘Neauralize So Numb’ offers in abundance, it’s ridiculously fast paced with riffs clambering over each other alongside percussion from Eric Hernandez (Ex-Kylesa) that’s hard to track, as it battles with itself through tempos and rhythms that deliver an erratic backdrop to the raspy shouts.

The shifting elements of riffs and beats can be an unsettling experience, elements of thrash and sludge work their way in throughout the release. The fast paced thrash approach comes into its own in ‘Small Caps’, ‘Outline’ and ‘Rylan’. There’s rarely a moment to really catch your breath and regain some form of composure, however tracks like ‘Miscology’ offer up some slower tempos and a chance for the band to swell and sprawl out, leading the track towards the four minute mark and taking the sound into more progressive territory, and more importantly, successfully.

This is extreme hardcore music, and at points is in danger of moulding into one heap of fast paced sludge. However what this band does successfully is entwine just enough hooks and melodies to keep you on your toes and get into each new offering, giving over something to engage with, rather than battle against constantly. As stated before this is far from easy listening, but who wants that when you’ve got 10 tons of power violence blasted into your ears at mac-10 speed.

4/5

‘No Ghost’ by Capsule is available now on Rorschach Records.

Capsule on MySpace

Connor O’Brien