From the ashes of defunct Minneapolis-based grindcore nomads Ambassador Gun arises Karamazov, the brainchild of Luke Olson, which he began in 2014 between recording and touring with his other acts. Having no prior experience in handing studio production, Olson took his long-time affinity for electronic music and homed in on the construction the music with simple guitar riffs, and following with the addition of percussion, synth, and other electronic elements. He wisely also brought in additional musicians so that the sound had more depth and breadth. As well as providing guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, synths and programming himself, he was assisted by Tim Java (ex-Dead To Fall) performing live drums on "When The Hope Dries," "Rich Red Light," and "Triangle," Jake BadNRad supplying vocals on "Triangle," Erin Severson (Former Worlds) singing on "Sleepwreck," saxophone from Thomas Strommen on "Collapser," and Adam Tucker playing bass on "Sleepwreck."
The result is an EP that is imbued with intensity, and very much creates a world that is quite different, with Luke happily moving between lush, synth landscapes and soaring, post-metal/post-hardcore guitar elements. Songs ebb and flow, each of the five being quite different to the others, with a sense of apocalypse and a world at its’ very end. Intense and powerful, this is an interesting debut, and I would hope that a full album will follow in short order.
