Riff Police! Pull Over! #122: Ektomorf Vs Sepultura!

Essentially masterminded by vocalist and guitarist Zoltán Farkas, the soul founding member of a band that has has had a revolving door of musicians over the past 27 years, Ektomorf began life back in 1993 in the small city of Mezőkovácsháza near the Hungarian border with Romania. 16 band members and 14 albums through 7 labels makes for an impressive set of statics none the less. In 2005 the band worked with Producer Tue Madsen (Meshuggah, Dark Tranquillity, Suicide Silence) for the second time in the space of two years on “Instinct“. Put simply, it’s an album of 12 tracks rammed full of with coarse vocals, pummeling rhythmic battery and groove that owes a lot to early 90’s work of Max Cavalera in both Sepultura and Soulfly. That tag is one that Farkas has never really escaped throughout the international career of Ektomorf, despite his best endeavors.

People often accuse bands like Pissing Razors as Pantera wannabes but this is a whole different beast. As an album, “Instinct” is one that suffers from that influence more than most with tribal parts appearing in the middle of cuts like “Show your Fist” and the kind of lyrical flow that Max Cavalera uses. But we’re not ones to throw a band on the wood burning stove just because they follow someone else’s playbook, there is always the opportunity for redemption and in their latter career, the band have indeed improved. But going back to “Instinct” for a second; If you’re saying that the main riff of the track isn’t a c*** hair away from hillbilly heaven or the brilliant “Roots Bloody Roots” from Sepultura, arguably the bands best known track, then we’re going to say you’re wrong.