It usually takes a lot to elicit a “Crap of the Month” label out of me, but Ektomorf’s What Doesn’t Kill Me … makes the cut on many fronts. What is sold to us as aggressive riffing is nothing but monotonous grossly ‘ad nosium’ repetitive downtuned chord slamming, while forceful vocals by band leader Zoltan Farkas is nothing but straightforward unrefined yelling. Combine these traits and extend them over unnecessarily long 13 tracks and you will have some of the worst modern nu-metal has to offer. Tue Madsen signing up to produce this effort certainly makes it heavy in the sound department, but can’t possibly hide the total lack of musical ideas.

Trying to grab the coattails of Sepultura, Ektomorf could have relied on the gypsy origins of its founding members, but nothing in Ektomorf’s music even hints at gypsy motifs. Crushing one’s guitar strings on and on certainly does not qualify. Somehow, I was also under impression that it is supposed to be us, unrefined Americans, to spike the lyrics with profound and well spoken “fuck you”. Instead, it is now the Europeans, as Ektomorf hails from Hungary, who are picking up the eloquent mantle.

Even in the few moments when Ektomorf could have been catchy they manage to botch it. The only solo of the album (title track) is muddy, the tempo changes in Revenge to All don’t really change anything, I Can See You drags endlessly, only ACDC could have worked the rhythm presented on New Life, and the beginning head-bobbing moments of Love and Live are destroyed in their tracks by the vocals needing to interrupt the flow to scream out some sort of “message”. Jumbled piano and rap of Sick of It All, however, is unquestionably the cherry on top of this turd sundae.

Trying to do some research on the band, I have stumbled over one interview, where Ektomorf’s members mentioned that “if Judas Priest is metal, then we are certainly not”. This is god-honest truth. I am notorious trying to get people converted into metal’s lore, playing different albums from different genres to different people. My own family members, co-workers and numerous friends have often fallen victim to my “missionary” efforts. The proper way is to find the fit between my next human target and their to-be-preferred musical form, however, I can’t think of anyone I would expose to Ektomorf. This is not only anti-metal, but anti-music as well, as the bunch of angry guys with access to electric instruments who yell “fuck” a lot do not music make. Call me close-minded on this one, but I much prefer that little Judas Priest band, as well as good thrash, death, doom, black and progressive metal. What Doesn’t Kill Me … is unlistenable, unless jumping up in a circle pit is your only goal.