Sleep With The Lights On...

Okkotonushi - Sleep/Talk (2013)

It is a cold day here in Dayton, OH but the brilliant Okkotonushi’s Sleep/Talk is helping to warm things up. This Aurora, Missouri act touches on many musical influences. The schizophrenic track Forchids opens the record with some chaotic spoken word work leading into an equally insane fury of noise! Moving on to Shimmer we get to hear some well done time shifts break neck changes that all come to a wonderful cascade at about 5 minutes in. Reminiscent of Fugazi at times mixed with touch of At The Drive In's early days. Which can only be good thing! The majority of the record is poetic lyrically and touching on some poignant social commentary with out being too preachy. There are some longer tracks on the record as you’d come to expect from any post-rock/metal/hardcore acts if you fall prey to such tags. Spindles finds us putting our ear up to the aforementioned length but with creative use of swells and ambiance it keeps you on edge, waiting for the explosion and once it does it doesn’t disappoint. Sleep/Talk is a conceptual piece about the journey through the sleep cycle. As the band puts it “The listener plays the part of the dreamer, while the music represents brainwaves and dreamscapes, the words being the minds conversation with itself.” If you combine this concept with some love story type thematics you have just touched the surface of this brilliant recording.
It has been my absolute pleasure to have found this band, been given the chance to review and engulf myself in such an honest and interesting approach on some familiar territory combined with some new life!
~Stephen

For Fans Of; Refused, At The Drive In, Pink Floyd, Fugazi, Explosions In The Sky

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Sleep/Talk (sample) • LongWeirdWord ($5) • Childhood/Brotherhood ($5)

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Scream If You Want Hardcore...

Okkoto - Childhood/Brotherhood (2011)

Oh the joys of Bandcamp and the little gems they behold!

Here we have ambient hardcore mix courtesy of four chaps from the deep dark depths of Missouri. In fact Okkoto do almost stray into the realms of grindcore throughout this little offering, with tracks like 'Mathlete' and 'Global Warming Killed My Mom and Dad' echoing of elements of the genres legends Discordance Axis. However, the brutal and furious off kilter drum beats matched with equally enthusiastic mashing of the low end of the fret board all but secure this record into the more hardcore niche of things. Actually the guys themselves describe their sound as schizophrenic hardcore, which is fantastically apt when you actually sit down and listen to a few of their tracks back to back. This may initially turn a few of our readers off and yeah it's a change from the norm for the blog but I for one do occasionally enjoy the likes of Rorschach and Posion The Well - bands of which Okkoto would not look out of place being on the same bill as.
As for the aforementioned ambience, well that comes in the form of post rock esque intros and bridges that act as a precursor to Iain's bouts of fantastically savage growling vocals. Vocals which I must add, are absolutely spot on. Treading that fine line between tortured and disjointed, they really do make all the (what would usually be classed as sporadic) elements gel together nicely.
If you like your hardcore or mathcore (God, I hate that term) you'll undoubtedly really dig Okkoto, and if it's not your usual 'go to' genre, then just give it a go, they may just sway you...

~Jay

For Fans Of; Norma Jean, Converge, The Chariot, The End, 3 Stages Of Pain 

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Childhood/Brotherhood (320kbps)