DEAD KIWIS Prove Once Again That Mathcore Musicians Are Not (Always) Engineers
In some ways : there are many marketing/communication/strategic approaches to release a new album. A carefully orchestrated marketing campaign. A cryptic teaser. A dramatic artistic statement. A heartfelt documentary exploring the creative process.
A carefully orchestrated marketing campaign. A cryptic teaser. A dramatic artistic statement. A heartfelt documentary exploring the creative process. Or, if you’re DEAD KIWIS, you can release an album called ‘EXTREME METAL’ (that title!) – via the Cuneo (in Italy)-based label Vollmer Industries – unveil a video featuring a T-Rex, and let the world figure out the rest.
So, the Lyon-based quartet are back with ‘EXTREME METAL’, their latest full-length release, accompanied by the delightfully ridiculous video for « PUDDING GUY ». Together, they offer a near-perfect introduction to a band that has spent almost two decades balancing technical chaos, hardcore aggression, dark subject matter and a complete disregard for conventional wisdom.
For those unfamiliar with the French gang, DEAD KIWIS have quietly established themselves as one of the most entertaining outliers in the European heavy music scene. After emerging from a punk-hardcore background, the band gradually evolved toward a more chaotic and singular blend of mathcore, hardcore and rock’n’roll energy, where violent riffs, dissonant guitars and rhythmic whiplash coexist with an almost cartoonish sense of humor.
Imagine Converge, The Chariot and The Dillinger Escape Plan getting trapped inside a Saturday morning cartoon after consuming industrial quantities of caffeine.
That description may sound absurd, but it only tells half the story.
Beneath the jokes, costumes and prehistoric creatures lies an album fueled by considerably darker emotions. ‘EXTREME METAL’ explores themes of depression, grief, isolation, manipulation and disappointment. Yet rather than dwelling in melancholy, DEAD KIWIS channel these experiences into something explosive. There is little room for introspection here. No comforting resolutions. No emotional safety nets. Just cathartic rage, weaponized frustration and enough energy to level a small city.
The result feels less like a therapy session and more like a demolition derby.
Musically, DEAD KIWIS continue to thrive somewhere between mathcore precision, hardcore urgency and rock’n’roll recklessness. Fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Better Lovers, The Chariot, Norma Jean and END will immediately recognize familiar DNA, but the band’s irreverent personality keeps them from becoming another technically proficient clone in an already crowded genre. And that personality may well be their greatest asset.
In a scene often obsessed with seriousness, complexity and self-importance, DEAD KIWIS seem perfectly comfortable being both brutally heavy and genuinely funny. More importantly, they understand that humor and violence are not opposites. In their hands, the former amplifies the latter.
Which brings us back to the T-Rex.
We can only assume the band exhausted the entire album budget on visual effects, costume design and an A-list cast heroically concealed beneath layers of Hollywood-grade makeup. Financial responsibility was clearly sacrificed somewhere during the creative process. We’re not complaining.
Because EXTREME METAL ultimately succeeds at something many heavy records forget: being memorable. Ferocious without becoming joyless. Technical without becoming sterile. Ridiculous without sacrificing impact.
And yes.
They have a T-Rex.
