Santa Karla “At the Mouth of Madness” 7”

I believe "At the Mouth of Madness" (released by Thirty Days of Night Records) is the second EP from UK act Santa Karla, though it's my first exposure to their work. Its three songs/11 minutes display a quality blend of metallic hardcore styles, from stripped down midpaced chugging with dense, prominent basslines to riffing that carries the more caustic edge of bands like Turmoil—all fronted by harsh, relentless screams that work quite nicely. There's just a smidge of melody tucked away in there as well (largely amidst the more metal-based runs), and another cool point is that some of the rhythms that have more of a traditional, old school hardcore type of structure are twisted around to come from a more discordant angle. Closer "Iron Skye" even hits on some unexpected little bits of gritty, not-quite-rocked-out sludge riffs, so there are a good amount of different influences swirling around here. Since it's such a short EP, I'll just include an excerpt of what's offered:

Santa Karla "Whispers" (excerpt)

Pick one up if you like what you hear. The vinyl's limited to just 300 copies total (on two different color combinations), but it's also available on iTunes if you're more into the convenience of mp3's...

Get It

Thirty Days of Night Records (white/blue vinyl)
Thirty Days of Night Records (red/black vinyl)
Thirty Days of Night Records (both colors)
iTunes (mp3)