The effect of the worldwide pandemic, and subsequent global shutdown, has been catastrophic on many fronts; the live entertainment industry being one of those to feel the brunt the most. Spare a thought though for Brazilian rock band Ego Kill Talent: South American tour with Metallica and Greta Van Fleet – cancelled, European tour with System of a Down – cancelled, key worldwide festival appearances – cancelled. Having a brand new album to promote around the dates was the icing on the cake, hence Ego Kill Talent had to rethink their plans. The band elected to split their full-length album ‘The Dance Between Extremes’, which was originally due out in May 2020, into three EPs. ‘The Dance’ EP landed in June 2020, ‘The Dance Between’ EP dropped six months later, and the third, final, and full album release ‘The Dance Between Extremes’ is available now.
‘The Dance Between Extremes’ is an interesting album. Hints of Foo Fighters here and there, shades of Incubus, even a Weezer-like touch (especially the intro to ‘Beautiful’), but a great starting point for comparisons would be the Grammy-nominated modern rock outfit Nothing More. Both bands have that air of unpredictability about them, as well as the knack of being able to seamlessly mesh the traditional with the new. Both also like big-ass bass licks as well. The opening trio of ‘NOW!’, ‘The Call’, and ‘Lifeporn’ is pretty damn special; some beefy downtuned guitar licks, those big-ass bass licks mentioned earlier, and hooks by the bucketload. ‘Lifeporn’ is the first suggestion of a Foo’s influence, but the Foo’s with bending, downtuned, guitar licks, and slamming rhythms. ‘Deliverance’ has a killer grunge-lite vibe; Garbage-meets-Stone Temple Pilots kinda party going on, neat synth sounds in the background, while ‘In Your Dreams Tonight’ returns to a Foo’s influence.
‘Starving Drones (A Dinner Talk)’ begins with a Rage Against The Machine-like vitriolic rant from vocalist Jonathan Dörr, and although the track settles down to a more commercial feel and pace in places, Dörr keeps it vibrant with dashes of rapping/ranting vocals in a Korn-like style. The ultra-light ‘Our Song’ quickly follows on and is perhaps the most commercial moment on the album, and even though it is light and airy, the riffs are never that far away, and it comes as a pleasant surprise when the song diverts down a Rush ‘Permanent Waves’ route mid-song. Great guitar work from God knows who on this one: the band pride themselves on their ability to swap instruments, so it could be either Jean Dolabella, Niper Boaventura, or Theo Van Der Loo delivering the excellent riffage.
Metallica, Greta Van Fleet, and System of a Down, three very different bands that Ego Kill Talent should have shared a stage with by now, and Within Temptation, who the band opened for in the UK back in 2018. EKT’s ability to slot in with such varied artists is a testament to their sound and ‘The Dance Between Extremes’ is an album that deserves to be heard on the biggest stages in the world. For now, though, it’s all about building Ego Kill Talent a fanbase, and hopefully, the live dates will follow on.
‘The Dance Between Extremes’ is available to stream and purchase now, you can also pre-order your vinyl copy (available 30th April), at the following link: https://fanlink.to/egokilltalent
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