Kiritsis - Kiritsis

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Kiritsis is a doom/sludge band from Indianapolis who formed in 2024; This self-titled album is their full-length debut. 

With a runtime of just under 31:19 minutes, this is a short but very powerful release. Their sound has a hardcore influence to it, lending much raucous energy to the tempo. I like their guitar tone a lot—it’s just a little muddy but thicker than one of those fat-bottomed girls that Queen obsessed over.  

The bass is just as heavy-handed, the vibrations threatening to shake the foundations of my headphones as I type this. The drums are pervasive, rolling through like thunder while complimenting the songs with enough high octane pressure to make them at the boiling point at any given second.

Due to their name and the sound bytes, it’s obvious the story of American kidnapper Anthony George Kiritsis is of an influence to the band and album. I wasn’t overly familiar with the story before receiving this promo but clearly Anthony was a desperate man and I can feel that same seedy desperation, the futility borne out of impossible situations, throughout the album. The tension of the music here is nearly palpable.  

The production goes a long way too on making this album s huge and threatning as it i. It’s nothing fancy but music like this doesn't need anything but the room to grow it’s raging, unstoppable power and that is exactly what happens here.

Check out the opening song, “Knuckles.” Immediately, the tension, the trepidation, builds up with the drums. The bass arrives soon after, pushing everything to a forth until it spills over with massive, groovy riffs. It is hard not to be impressed by the vocals, which seems to be a mix between hardcore shouts, death screams and the sounds that leave me when I step on my kids’ Legos.

The drums help the music explode with the fervor of hardcore punk while keeping it firmly planted on the extreme side of doom/sludge. “Pissant,” is fine example of this, the drums leading the charge for grooved riffs that themselves let the bass drop anvils across the bulldozed landscape.

Listening to the album is exhausting, in a good way. After each song, I felt I was put through the ringer. 

But then a song like “Like A Taste,” hits me across the face to make me realize there is no gain without the pain—and that can enjoy it. In under two minutes, this song provides a ridiculous beat down that packs as much power as some full-lengths.

“Deny. Defend. Dispose,” opens with a bassline that already threatens to crumble this musical mountain. The guitars are fantastic in building an atmopshere that is as chaotic as the rest of the song.

Like bombs going off in sequence, the song is one bludgeon away from the next head bashing moment but it's just A bit more psychosis induced this time around. 

Self-titled albums usually make a statement and Kiritsis have definitely gone overboard with this beastly album. 

Rating: Excellent 






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