Track Review: “Loading Failure” by Jigokü

After almost a year of social media silence, the return of Hungarian Industrial Metallers Jigokü with a brand new single with very little build up is a very interesting roll of the dice. Born from the ashes of Forbidden Noise the band formed as a trio with the addition of Dávid Szekeres (ex-Godgiven) programming drum tracks and unleashed a pair of singles recorded at Ghostship Recordings with Harmed guitarist Gábor Tóth in the producers chair. That was 2019 with “Molten Glass” fast approaching 97k of Spotify streams alone and was followed by EPs “Hate:Speech” and “26.31” in 2020 and 2022 respectively, the line up changing as the band evolved from a studio project with the desire to play live once more. The evolution in the Jigokü sound over the past four years has taken them from a Death Metal act with programmed drums to one that embraced Industrial sounds and Metallic Hardcore riffs before pushing into Gloom Metal and even Post-Hardcore without ever letting go of their roots.

Now they return with “Loading Failure“, a cut mixed and mastered by ÓL recording (Cvlt Of Grace, Mirror Twin, Arkas) and featuring a guest appearance from Norbert Rago which… continues that evolution of sound with a beast of a Nu-Metalcore cut that has flavours of “Alien” era Northlane, Dealer and Alpha Wolf. A punchy piece of raw aggression, the cut is one that gets progressively heavier as the narrative plays out, all the while giving you whiplash injuries with its violent turbulence. Eerie industrial sounds form the back drop of the hellscape, screamed introspective vocals giving an air of a tormented soul as they building between shriller Hardcore screams and Deathcore growled vocals, all from barbed tongues. The clank-y bass bleed out moments are pure class while what sounds like a baseball bat to beer keg thump makes for a nostalgic moment. This feels like a defining moment for Jigokü, as if they have now established their sound and built upon it. Far removed from those early offerings and one which is very much for the here and now, polished and refined. Be warned. A storm is coming. [8/10]