A UK band with a political feel playing synths, guitars, samples, and so much I did not know I was missing. The Qemists recently signed with FiXT for their initial release of Warrior Sound in 2016, and they have a new EP releasing later this week titled Warrior Soundsystem. As an EP it is customary to have a few new tracks with old or remixed songs. Makes sense as EP stands for Extended Playlist, not full album (which is what an LP is), so you can expect a few old gems in addition to new entries to entice current fans, and hopefully some new ones too.
There is a 90s Nu Metal feel on the tracks Stepping Stones and Find My Way that is welcomed with open arms. The comparison was hard to shake with the cover of Korn’s Blind that snuck up on me as I hit play to listen front to back for the first time. Korn released that song on their self-titled album in 1994. If the song is familiar at all, the hi-hats in the beginning give it away without looking or asking for the title. It does not travel far from the original, but the little changes make it their own. I appreciate there was no attempt at an impression of Johnathan Davis’ unique vocals. If I had to compare The Qemists with another band of that time, it would be Pitchshifter, a UK band with high energy, heavy guitar, and samples to spare.
Stepping Stones is easily the showcase song, mixing vocals and rhymes with musical time changes. That one song expresses many things they can do and do well. However, Find My Way stands out the most. It’s a solid song that slowly grabs you, and soon has you ready to play it again and again. The remixes are spread out well, meaning you won’t hear several versions of the same song one after the other. Lastly, the live version of Jungle is a great quality recording that really gives a taste of what a live show must be like. I am sold on this and interested to hear their next full album when it’s finally released.
7 out of 10
Pros
- Nu Metal 90s Sound
- Blind Cover
Cons
- Hit or Miss Remixes
Warrior Soundsystem was created by The Qemists under the FiXT label. It will be available on July 14th, 2017. The EP was provided to us for review. If you’d like to see more of The Qemists, check out their Bandcamp and FiXT page.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth your time, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great album that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate music, please let us know.
Check out OpenCritic for a better idea of how our review stacks against others.