EP Review: Medication

If you haven’t yet heard of Furious Cartel, then you’ll want to after this review.

Formed from the embers of 90’s metal pioneers, Subtract and Furious George, Joel Facon and Bryce Wood have teamed up with Andrew Langsford to bring us Furious Cartel. This is their debut EP; Medication and it is an absolute assault that your ears need. They may not recover but trust me, it’s worth it.

As with any good Kiwi metal (something we are pretty good at in our music scene) there is a ferocity that is unparallel, and good thing the opening track of this EP kicks off with Burn.

Nothing quite like a bit of ultra violence in head banging to really get the full effect, or maybe make you realise your age, depending on your demographic. Either way, it’s an absolute ripper. Guttural vocals, fast and heavy as hell.

Before going further in the rabbit hole, It goes without saying here that even one or two songs deep, this metal amalgamation is a win. The musicianship is fantastic, and the production quality is superb.

It would be hard to pick just one stand out in this short, but important collection, but Hard Days 10 does catch my ear again every time I click play. Again, solid riffs but with a modicum of melody in the heaviest way possible. Dare I say the word ‘catchy’ in metal, let alone metal that borders more on the death metal side, but there are elements of that, before ripping straight back to the brutalness.

But I also can’t forget Legio Patria Nostra which has such great riffs that would rival Cradle of Filth (yes, I know, technically they’re Black Metal) However you hear it, it’s damn good and would be another stand out. There is something unmatched about hearing riffs like that, that does something to you.

See, I told you, you may not recover, and I didn’t just mean your ears either. Metal like this either awakens or ignites something in your core. It’s hard to come back from that, but if and when you do, click or tap play again on Furious Cartel’s Medication EP.

It’s worth every note.