Japanische Kampfhörspiele
Rauchen und Yoga

Yesterday I had the unhealthy idea, for a moment, of reviewing one of the usual deathcore albums with which I am nagging quite a bit of the debaserian community. The rascals in question I was supposed to analyze were none other than Suicide Silence, the undisputed heroes of 70-80% of the fringed fifteen-year-olds to whom I have literally declared war in my recent writings. But, after listening to their latest album (with the imaginative title "No Time to Bleed"), I had an attack of diarrhea that kept me stuck in the bathroom for at least two hours while my parents were outside waiting for me to come out, because they also had their own needs. As is known, unexpected events come all at once, so I decided not to repeat the experience with this band in question, and I preferred to focus on a far better album. Ladies and gentlemen, I have the pleasure to present to you this band with an unpronounceable name, Japanische Kampfhörspiele, one of the best grind/death outfits to emerge in recent times.

Formed in Germany in 1998, they have released numerous demos and some best-of compilations before making their proper debut in 2002. And after the excellent "Hardcore aus der Estern Welt" (from 2004) and the compilation "Früher War Auch Nicht Alles Gut" (2006), the group releases what is probably their best work so far, "Rauchen und Yoga" (2007).

A definitely lively and varied work, crafted by this group, a synthesis of the numerous influences that find perfect balance in this episode. Among the grooves of these 17 tracks you will find a bit of everything: slow and cadenced tempos like the opening "Der Angriff Startet", which already from the title is a real declaration of intent (the translation is "The assault begins"), "Kundenbetreuer" and "Hungerhilfe", crazy punk-core splinters like "Punkerpolente", "Eruiert", the title track itself and proper frontal assaults in pure grind-core style like "Wir Haben Nicht Gewusst, Dass es Solche Lager Gibt", "Betatier" and "Leute Ohne Lust", worthy of the latest (excellent) works of the timeless Napalm Death (and forgive me if that's too little!). But it doesn't stop here: making the album even more interesting are noteworthy experiments like "Das Experiment", an almost 3-minute noise-industrial interval, and the perfectly fitting electronic touches of "18:46:53" which they could have exploited even more, given the results.

The singing is in their native language, which gives the work even more personality, as German is a language that fits well with a genre so fragmented and deconstructed as grindcore.

Short tracks that hover around 1-2 minutes in length, but very well-crafted and polished, full of sudden tempo changes that don’t lose immediacy. Except perhaps for some minor tracks like "Steig Aus" or "Komm, Wir Drehen einen Porno", the album's quality remains at very good levels.

At the end of the 36 minutes of "Rauchen und Yoga," you may come out a bit tested, but also aware of having listened to one of the best products to come out in the extreme field in recent years, a fresh and original album that stands out in the sea of plasticized metalcore from overseas that is invading the scene. A band still too little known, which we hope will emerge from the underground to gain greater visibility. Keep going.