Blast! More or less accidentally I discovered this four piece as they played a gig in my town and the description sounded somewhat interesting… and BOLZ’N (an abbreviated form of the German word for either "bolt" or "to slam" ) rip your head off, dammit! Technical, hectical, twisted and intense Grindcore / Mathcore of such a ferocity which pulverizes quite some of the bands of a similar style on Relapse. The band is described as being somewhere between DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and CREATION IS CRUCIFIXION which is not too far off the point – I would also throw in PIG DESTROYER and DISCORDANCE AXIS to round up the picture a bit. The special thing with BOLZ’N is, however, that they definitely focus on an utterly brutal hybrid of complex modern Grindcore with jazzy technicality and odd time signatures. Much to my joy the band does not showcase any audible traces of Hardcore but focuses on their demanding own style, which also incorporates the skilled (! – as it is not the norm with many brutal groups) use of samples here and there. One further special thing is the seethingly aggressive vocal delivery of the front woman, ranging from high screeches to manic screams as well as mid-ranged grunting. I must really say that this band obviously outshines some of their influences by far. All four songs on this EP are in German, some titles are which seem to be of an abstract and quite personal kind, yet definitely avoiding any "emo" trappings. As to be expected with this music, you don’t get a coverartwork with human body parts in decompositions but some neat abstract digital graphics which remotely look like a toned down version of Stephen O’Malley’s work. People into the aforementioned bands as well as more straightforward acts as NASUM or RELEVANT FEW should make themselves familiar with BOLZ’N! A full length seems to be on its way and I will definitely go for that one – you can get your hands on that EP in the meanwhile! Check out some songs off this release (namely ‘666 Hektopascal’ and ‘Totstellen’ on http://server4.hxcmp3.com/bands/33495/index.php as the regular site at www.bolzn.org still has to be updated. For inquiries about actual releases and shirts contact the band directly at: balkanbastard@bolzn.org.