Groke’s Clan is a highly talented band emerging from their home base in Finland. They’ve been going strong making music ever since 2001, playing over 200 shows and entertaining various crowds in that time. Their weapon of choice comes down to a style of metal that isn’t afraid to blend sub-genres at all… As they describe it, you can hear elements of “thrash, doom and death metal with melodic rock and crust punk” in their sound – in addition to other things. This makes for quite the awesome experience that manages to remain consistent within its own right but, at the same time, will leave listeners guessing at what may come next!
This shows in full through the band’s new EP that came out this month! Going by the name of “Vicious Circles”, it features 6 well honed tracks that are sure to raise hairs on the necks of some listeners. The full record is currently available for streaming and purchase over on the official Groke’s Clan Bandcamp page. They also have “Vicious Circles” merch packages a plenty to those who look up their Facebook page.
It’s immediately clear that these are experienced musicians upon pressing “play”. Their sound is very much matured and developed to a fine, professional point that could easily place them among some of the leading contemporaries in this musical field. Even the production on this record is crisp, bringing everything out in an appropriate manner.
Beyond this, it’s fun and upbeat while managing to be heavily steeped in a metallic spirit of sorts. There are a number of shining moments on this EP. It’s actually difficult to pick favorite tracks here so I won’t. Solid songwriting lends a memorable quality to every number on “Vicious Circles”. Listen enough and you’ll likely find yourself humming along to parts.
To be frank, this is a criminally underrated new release (and band) that deserves some attention, dammit! Even our stream of the music video for the track “Voyeur” got completely overlooked by YouTube’s algorithms (literally 0 views from our YouTube crowd even after a re-post – maybe because the buzzword “Voyeur” tripping Google’s newfound direction of censorship? The world may never know but it’s bullshit like we’ve never seen at The Circle Pit).
Objectively, this record won’t be everyone’s go to. It might seem straightforward and deceptively simple to some, even with the variety. It’s really just that focused of a record in which Groke’s Clan manage to be so varied and consistent simultaneously. That’s not an easy feat to pull off. I would liken this quality to bands like Mastodon and Gojira in the current field. There’s a definite sound to be found here. These tracks are some damn jams! They may not be groundbreaking but they are jams! The only other possible qualm from my perspective is wishing the release was longer – the pitfall of all EPs it would seem.
But… To sum things up, this a great EP through and through! Go listen to it if you’re looking for some more fun in your metal music while maintaining great songwriting. Well done, Groke’s Clan. Once again, you can head over to their Bandcamp and Facebook to pick this one up! We’ve also provided links for you to listen up above. Enjoy!
