2017 has grown into another great year for the Greek crust/hc punk scene in terms of releases. Picking up from where Conspiracy of Denial, Lethe and Dead on Parole left it earlier this year, Procrastinate from Karditsa, who already have two really good ep’s (“Subjugated Herd” and “Ideals to Burn”) under their belt, released their first, self-titled full-length a few weeks ago.
In a recent interview, the band described its new venture as “the tale of a modern human’s daily struggle to cope with life’s absurdity and to make all dreams of rebellion reality”. This comment is quite accurate. The overall feel of the album has intense existential vibes without lacking aggression and “nerve”. Musically, the recipe of giving space, in spite of the “traditional” duration of the tracks, for the remarkable compositions to unravel themselves, in combination with the well-placed and well-timed vocal pounding seems to bear an abundance of fruits.The listener has time to tune in the rhythm, enjoy the riffs and then start headbanging right on time for the entry of the vocals. A key feature of this release is the pretty heavy melodies in both fast and mid-tempo parts, while the discreet but recognizable post influences broaden the album’s overall horizon. The very beautiful aesthetics of “Procrastinate” are matched by the extraordinary artwork by the hand of Alex CF (Fall of Efrafa, Light Bearer, Carnist, Momentum, Archivist, Morrow, etc.)
All in all, Procrastinate make a very steady step forward, consolidating themselves on the Greek crust scene, bearing a distinct musical mark. It is also worth mentioning that the band’s attention to the production and aesthetics of the album proves that when talent is combined with a mentality that does not consider diy to be sloppy by design, thus overcoming several related absurd fixations, it leads to creations that lack nothing in terms of quality when compared with the releases coming out from the “commercial” scene. A truly fantastic album. I am anxiously waiting for its release in physical form.
8,5/10