KEN mode – Venerable
Profound Lore – 2011
It took me a couple of years after the first time I heard KEN mode to come around to their sound. I was freshly relocated to Oslo and already had enough new things on my plate. Now I can’t imagine life without their snarky tones. Like a lot of people, I always end up coming back to the album that introduced me to a band, and this one is a fucking banger. The bass tone alone is worthy of an award. It’s so goddamn mean. But I recommend to go along for the ride here. Start to finish. They touch on some really delicate moments without ever feeling like they’re abusing the soft/loud dynamic and really manage to balance out the hammer-fisted riffing with uplifting yet unpredictable crescendos. Think noise-rock filtered through metallic-hardcore with a dash of post vibes. I’m just glad they ditched the cowboy hat thing.
FFO: Twangy chugs.