Kissing Chaos
Enter With a Bullet
Fueled By Ramen
Ahhh! I always enjoyed a welcome surprise, and Kissing Chaos has supplied me with just that. I went into this record without any background on the band, but I knew that Fueled by Ramen is a pretty stable label, and they’ve never let me down. Chalk up another winner for FBR, as Enter With a Bullet is a 100% rocker from beginning to end.
For the most part, Kissing Chaos is a “sing, then scream, then sing” emo band, similar to early Boy Sets Fire crossed with Grade and bits of Jawbreaker. Lucky for me, I love all three of those bands, so my connection with this one was instant. The album’s title track is a spastic, furious stomper of pure aggression, featuring some vicious and raunchy guitars spread thick across a bed of powerful, straightforward drums. “Let’s break these bones tonight,” sings the lead vocalist, before freaking out into a fury of unintelligible, screamed garble that is the chorus. Who cares if you can’t understand what he’s saying? His voice is scratchy and strained (in a good way) and he sounds really tough, so what he’s saying isn’t important. To keep down a “rock on!” fist during this song is out of the question.
“Communication Discontent” shows a weirder, softer side to Kissing Chaos. The verse features odd timing, with bizarre guitar melodies and softly sung vocals. The chorus has louder, more pronounced guitars, but the song, as a whole, is restrained and never really cuts loose like the others. “Communication Discontent” serves as a good contrast to the rest of the album, which attacks throughout.
There are only five songs on this EP, which is a bit disappointing as I am left wanting more. The five that are here are absolutely delicious. If you’ve got a few extra dollars, this cd is totally worth it. The songs are good enough that you could listen to the whole EP three or four times in a row, and they won’t get stale. I’m really looking forward to hearing a full album of material from these guys.
Fueled By Ramen: http://www.fueledbyramen.com/ • Kissing Chaos: http://www.kissingchaos.net
