Dikloud sings mostly in German and I’m praying the lyrics are great or even good, because, heaven help me, I like this melodic hardcore LP. Mostly I like it for the ways it drifts away from hardcore—into samples of seagulls hovering around the beach, or clean guitar interludes, or gnarly Jehu-like songs—but also for the way the most straightforward songs don’t feel clichéd. When’s the last time you heard a hardcore record that had peaks and valleys? That seemed to have a natural dramatic structure? This is clearly a well thought-out, aesthetically strong statement of an album (the record includes a large sealed envelope full of lyric sheets and xeroxed photos, basically a dossier). If anyone can translate what that statement is into English, I’d very much appreciate it. –Matt Werts (Mamma Leone, mamma-leone.org / Phantom, phantom-records.blogspot.com / Kalt Am Kopf / Knebel Label)