Knut

While this Swiss band's Bastardizer album was a thoroughly punishing and noisy affair, the problem with it was that they matched each and every thick and juicy slab of noisecore architecture with an equal number of meandering, droning, sub-industrial crawl fests. Not only does this trend appear to be part of Knut's live set - as witnessed at this year's Milwaukee Metalfest - but it also seems to be continuing on through the band's recorded work. This new EP is more astringent and frigid than past work, with an emphasis on mid-tempo guitar discord and Didier's raw, shirtless wailing. "Aim at the Sun" tips Knut's hat to the complexity of Keelhaul and is the only track that picks up the pace, while the remainder recalls an unholy pairing of Godflesh's guitar excoriation and Isis's near-apocalyptic progressions. Then comes the long, drawn out dirge of "You Deserve Me" to top things off. Whether you actually deserve to sit through this is entirely down to personal tastes and tolerance levels.