Rise Of The Northstar: Welcame

Japan’s rapcore ragers try to stir up a pit(ta)

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As important as it is to maintain a well-balanced diet, sometimes you just want to cram junk food into your face.

Similarly, when it comes to music, there are times when a two-hour prog opus simply doesn’t hit the spot. It’s lucky, then, that we have bands like Rise Of The Northstar, who are very much the musical equivalent of a dirty kebab. Drawing inspiration largely from the hardcore stomp of Hatebreed and Biohazard, and, oddly, manga comics, they intersperse it with thrash shredding and a big dollop of nu metal bounce thrown in for good measure. It may not be big or clever, and songtitles like What The Fuck won’t have musos pondering any deeper lyrical meanings, but this is big, dumb fun at its finest. The likes of Samurai Spirit and Bosozoku provide the perfect soundtrack for headbanging, jumping around and spilling your beer while you embarrass yourself trying to rap along. While it may make some stomachs turn, the meaty riffs on offer here certainly give you something to get your teeth stuck into.

Via Nuclear Blast