Band:	Contrastic
Album:	Mamun
Style:	Death metal, Experimental grindcore
Release date:	December 15, 2020
A review by:	RaduP

01. Na Márách
02. Tarvas Maniacus
03. Mentální Výtok
04. Tenkrát Na Serveru
05. Ko?ile
06. Oni
07. Slu?ebně Star?í Nacista
08. National Razor
09. Homoheresy

The concept that there is a new Contrastic record out feels absolutely surreal to me. The fact that grind fans aren't freaking out about it is instead saddening.

Contrastic's debut self-titled album from 2000 had its cover art be a crudely colored drawing of Ariel from Disney's version of The Little Mermaid. It was one of the most forward-thinking, funny, and bizarre deathgrind records. But this isn't that uncommon from a scene that also gave us !T.O.O.H.! and Lykathea Aflame, all three coincidentally releasing their debut full lengths in the same year, and all three finding ways to make either grind, death metal, or both into something quirky and manic, and though only !T.O.O.H.! would be the more active of the bunch and find some ounce of success, Contrastic broke up in 2005 without releasing any other albums. As of a few days ago, they're no longer a "one-hit wonder".

Though they did reunite in 2012 (with only one member of four changed), and releasing the Jařmo EP in 2014, Mamun is the real deal. Continuing the trend of bizarre and really inappropriate cartoon drawings for cover arts (though nothing beats the classic Ariel one) that I'm sure will be a major red flag for most people seeing this album in the "New releases" section, as it probably would've been for me as well if the name didn't ring some bells. Now we have Mamun, which has admittedly a pretty different record from Contrastic, which is to be expected if 20 years pass, but here we have a more mature and less intense record basically. Sadly, no more cowbells. Thankfully, the technical aspects of the record have been amped, and the energy this has is a bit more calculated rather than chaotic. And when I say that it's less chaotic, I just mean it by Contrastic's standards.

The blasts and riffs and screams during the meatier parts are obviously intense as one can hope from a grind band, but they turn to a more melodic sound fairly quickly. Contrastic have always been pretty great at moving all over the place with their sound, and infusing the grind with melodies and outside sounds, but the lack of cowbell has definitely been compensated with how well integrated rather than chaotic these influences seem, from samples, to electronica, to jazz. For the most part this is still just a technical deathgrind album that flourishes into other territories far more often than others of its type, but a technical deathgrind album nonetheless, and they really sound a lot more cohesive, well-rounded and memorable in a mere 25 minutes.

So you can definitely feel that this is an album that has Contrastic age 20 years from the last we heard of them. This brings outcomes both good and bad. But missing out on this is a disservice to the grind.