Entropy Premiere “Unrelenting” Video; Death Spell EP out July 29
Posted in Bootleg Theater on July 20th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Hamburg, Germany’s Entropy follow their 2020 debut album, Liminal, with the new three-song Death Spell EP on July 29 through Crazysane Records. With the arrival of “Unrelenting,” premiering below, all three of the cuts featured on the 13-minute outing have been revealed, operating as they do in coursing fashion as “Death Spell” and “Cthulhucene” bring grown-up-and-sonically-filled-out riffs to a vibe born out of post-hardcore and emo that wholly embraces a brightness of sound and melodic richness.
For songwriter Hans Frese they may be a ‘creative bridge’ from 2020’s Liminal to a second full-length as the PR wire informs below — it has no reason to lie, but that’s happened before — but the wistful lines of lead guitar that run alongside the thickened progression of “Unrelenting” offer the depth from which the rampant vocal harmonies seem to soar.
On a personal level, I am wary of nostalgia. It is a trap of the human brain that first pulls you out of the moment you’re in and then holds you in a place that has only turned perfect or better through the hindsight of your flawed memory. Be grateful for remembering it with less bullshit than there inevitably 
was happening at the time and move on. I’m not saying don’t miss good days; just that those days don’t need to be totems to be appreciated.
And I’m sure there are nostalgic elements at play in Entropy‘s work — even the name of the band speaks to the idea of moving from order (more ideal) to chaos (presumably less ideal) — as there are in almost everything to one degree or another, but the sonic blend in which that’s taking place is refreshing in adapting weighted tonality to its own stylistic and melodic ends. So if we’re looking back as we careen through “Death Spell” and “Cthulhucene” into the landing point of “Unrelenting” — the three cuts going from shortest to longest in the process — we’re also looking forward. One assumes to the next album.
What that upcoming release might hold in terms of aural shifts from the first record — already in Death Spell, the songs are tighter generally and have less open space in their sound, but also have rounded off tonal and percussive edges to lessen the noise and up the rock — the sense here is that Entropy have found their path, their bridge, etc. Whatever they’re walking on — could be the sidewalk by the 7-Eleven for all I know; not to get too nostalgic — they seem to know where they’re going, and if the purpose of the EP is to represent their craft and general creative direction, Death Spell duly enchants with its momentum, hooks, performance, wash and vitality.
A fun bit of temporal irony that a release that in some way purports to be looking back should make you look forward to something that hasn’t yet happened, but welcome to life, which has already long since made that whole chao ab ordine shift.
Off we go. Preorder Bandcamp link and the aforementioned PR wire info follows the video below. “Death Spell” and “Cthulhucene” are streaming near the bottom of the post. You know how this works.
Enjoy:
Entropy, “Unrelenting” video premiere
‘Death Spell’ preorders: https://entropy8.bandcamp.com/album/death-spell-ep
German noisy indie-rockers Entropy return with a freshly written EP consisting of three skillfully crafted noise rock anthems inspired by Swervedriver, Nothing and Torche. “Cthulucene” is a skatepark-banger that effortlessly accelerates the angst of adolescence to an adult existential crisis at breakneck speed, before resolving in a shimmering breakdown that sees the fragments of a perfect life floating around in slow motion.
A masterful evocation of 80s, 90s and 00s alternative rock nostalgia.
German noisy indie rockers Entropy return with an electrifying new EP consisting of three freshly written alternative rock anthems that further perfect the image of youthful nostalgia as captured by the band’s first LP. Golden hour at the skatepark, long road trips to the beach, falling in love with the feeling of being in love — Death Spell combines influences from 80s alternative punk, 90s noise rock and early 00s emo to create a convincing soundtrack that makes you fall in love with your adolescence.
A testament to the undeniable artistry of Hamburg’s Hans Frese, Death Spell was written as a creative bridge between the band’s blazing debut album and a yet-to-be released sophomore album that he already finished writing. As Frese explains: “I had written an entire album before writing these tracks, but I felt there needed to be some sort of transition between Liminal and the new stuff.” Indeed, Death Spell takes all the good vibes from the band’s debut album and pours them into a format that makes distorted guitars and fast-paced rhythms almost seem accessible.
The tempo feels effortless on high speed bangers ‘Cthulhucene’ and the album-opening title track, while the big vocal harmonies and shimmering open chord progressions of ‘Unrelenting’ form a perfect finale for this short but sweet exercise in writing summer soundtracks with noisy guitars. With great melodies and sweet harmonies that tug right at your heart, Entropy have created a perfect soundtrack for the summer.
