Occult Fracture is a hard
rock/punk/metal quartet based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Fronted by the
fiery and soulful vocals of Crystal Crosby, they released their second EP titled
Bones & Bonfires this past May,
the follow-up to their debut EP, Fatal
Unkind, from 2021. The best way to describe this band is if you were to
have Motorhead and the Misfits jam together with a strong female lead singer
instead of Lemmy or Danzig on vocals.
This is one hell of an energetic band,
ladies and gents! They very much have a punk rock approach to tunes as almost
every song on this EP (and the previous one) are about two minutes long. It
makes for a frenzied listening pace, one that leaves you wanting “one more song”
with every spin. The band plays tight together and deliver razor-sharp riffs
and pounding rhythms all through the short running time of Bones & Bonfires. “Ravenous Phantoms” gets things off to a
high-energy start; a punk rock song with a vintage sound that I really dig. “The
Shroud” has a cool metal riff, tremendous vocals, and a catchy chorus. All hail
the riff for “Militant”, my personal favorite track. This song is the best of both
worlds: a perfect conglomeration of punk and metal. It’s a definite earworm.
For the final cut, “Telluride Trigger” uses word play and kicks it old school,
ending the proceedings with a loud bang. It’s gotta be a close second to my favorite
song on the EP.
I think Bones & Bonfires slightly edges out Fatal Unkind as the best of the two EPs. The band keeps showing
their chops for catchy songwriting and they continue to sound more confident in
their overall musical execution. At a brisk 10 minutes in length, this EP has
high replay value and it’s almost impossible not to hit the repeat button after
the final track. I want an LP next from Occult Fracture! It’d be really cool to
have a full set of a dozen songs in one shot. The only gripe I have, and it’s a
very minor one, is why did they get rid of the awesome band logo they had on
the cover art for Fatal Unkind for
this release? The haunting stylized font they used is gone on Bones & Bonfires. Bring it back,
guys! That little nitpick aside, I urge you to join in on the fun and pick up Bones & Bonfires at your earliest
convenience, it’s a banger of an EP!
Occult Fracture on Bandcamp: https://occultfracture.bandcamp.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment