Review: Self-titled EP from Kodama

A five piece Metalcore band from St. Albans is a rare thing. Like getting all red Skittles in a pack rare. Comprising of vocalist Neil Bailey, bassist Tim Krammer, drummer Nik Stojkov (who signed up in October) and guitarist pair James Lam and Mike Goring the band announced themselves again in late November with the arrival of this 4 track self-titled EP.

When “Rapture” kicks in, you may find yourself doing a double take and asking yourself if you’ve just out on a Slayer tune. Thrash infused Metalcore with some fine leads that ends up via a spoken wor passage diving head long into a modernised version of the early 2000 Metalcore sound that made it so popular. There are elements of Killswitch Engage in the gutiar work and with the influences on their sleeve they’ve made a fine tune in this one. “A Stitch In Time” introduces a more progressive aound with clean vocals and a bigger, funkier bass sound in the mix. Some of the soaring cleans across the chorus are about as far from the uncleans that flood the opening song. But the contrast is actually what makes them a great pair. When the uncleans do make a showing around the 3 minute mark, they only serve to add a bit of crush to the sound. “Strength In Unity” returns us to the Metalcore sound with some Unearth esq riffage and the uncleans of the verse make way for the cleans of chorus that is a standard in the genre. Lyrically hugely positive, the song is a driving high energy anthem that is perhaps the obvious single from the quartet of tunes on the EP. “Until The Dawn” returns us to the more progressive sounds of the second tune with some bright clean vocals around some building riffage. The big sing-a-long chorus is a winner and will no doubt have fans joining in at the shows. The Metalcore verse and uncleans add a nice contrast while the drop to acoustics broken with breakdowns before the final flourish shows the quality of musicanship this band are truly capable of. Let’s have some more from them! [7.5/10]