Self-described “disgusting music from Tokyo, Japan” KRUELTY excel at merging different elements from across the heavy music spectrum into something that’s as compelling as it is punishing. Their new 12” EP, Profane Usurpation (arriving November 22nd via Closed Casket Activities) takes their formative mission further–or as guitarist/vocalist Zuma puts it: “Death metal, grindcore, hardcore, and punk, all existing in one record, is an ideal form for any old school heavy music fan.”
Profane Usurpation highlights exactly why KRUELTY have been turning heads in the realms of hardcore and metal alike. The three-piece–Zuma, bassist Seina, and drummer Mani–first convened in 2017, honing in on an amalgam of beatdown hardcore from the U.S. and Japan with death and doom metal from Scandinavia. For Profane Usurpation, KRUELTY augmented their core sound with more grindcore and crust punk, furthering their genre chemistry like mad scientists tirelessly experimenting to achieve only one result: heaviness.
KRUELTY once again teamed with aggressive music leader Taylor Young (Drain, Regional Justice Center, God’s Hate, Full of Hell), who had worked with them since their debut record, 2020’s A Dying Truth. He produced/engineered Profane Usurpation and the EP was recorded between Los Angeles and Tokyo as the group honed every riff and blast beat with militant precision. Throughout the four songs on Profane Usurpation, Zuma sings primarily in Japanese, his guttural roar exploring anarchism, social injustice, and the trials of ordinary daily life. “Bloodless Mankind”–perhaps the most groove-oriented track on the EP–is a harsh condemnation of those who talk rather than act, while opener “Absolute Terror” pays tribute to New York death metal bands with a D-beat twist. The song’s ultra-pummeling riffs and thunderous breakdowns match Zuma’s blunt force lyricism “I speak about confronting your longtime enemy,” he says.
Profane Usurpation ends with “No Fear of Judgement” harkening back to Finnish death metal but imbued with what Zuma describes as KRUELTY’s unique “barbarism.” The song comes to a towering conclusion–a kick drum onslaught with precision strike riffs to match, as Zuma indicts the callous, collapsing societies around us. As the song’s final note is abruptly choked, one thing is for certain: we live in a world of KRUELTY.
