Album review: Kublai Khan TX – Exhibition Of Prowess

What do Kublai Khan TX sound like? Well, to quote Marge Simpson, they’re designed to hurt. For the past decade or so the Sherman sluggers have been busy polishing their sledgehammers and violently putting the hard into hardcore, and on their fifth full-length, Exhibition Of Prowess, they’re swinging beefier, heavier weights than ever.

Through its bludgeoning beatdowns and rib cage-altering subdrops, this is nothing but pit music. It grunts, it grinds, it glowers and tells you – quite literally on second track Darwinism – to ‘bang your fucking head’ and ‘get the fuck out of my face’. No frills. No mercy.

Speeding along in less than 25 minutes, it’s breathless and sinister in its intent, but it’s not chaotic. There’s a metallic precision to the savagery, offering hints of Code Orange and Hatebreed (whose mainman Jamey Jasta pops up on A Hopeless Fate), rather than a cacophonous mess. Although deviation from the formidable formula isn’t exactly on the cards, at times KKTX find a slight nu-metal accent to the guitars and low-slung bass, bringing with it some serious swagger, while they also head into the swamp for punishing, putrid groove.

One of the most brutish and pissed-off records of the year, it’s at times suffocating and in need of some respite, but when you need something to beat your chest to then crank it loud. Everything’s heavier in Texas.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Code Orange, Harm’s Way, Jesus Piece

Exhibition Of Prowess is released on September 20 via Rise