No, this is not hip hop. You might be mistaken because of the band name. But they are from Finland, so who can blame them, I guess hip hop doesn’t even exist there. What does exist? Doomy metal, lots of water, some soccer players who will move to SC Heerenveen if they’re good enough and now an industrial band: Kaos Krew. I made a mistake looking at the lyrics first and checking the music second. I had some preconceptions because the lyrics aren’t that great, but hey this is a warning if you decide to buy this. Music first. Then, the music again. Kaos Krew is a band that was founded by Ulf Skog, a pop producer in Finland. He formed a band with Goran Fellman (guitars) and Thomas Ost (bass). You can hear Ulf has a background as producer, because this record sounds the way music like this has to sound, and you can hear he produced pop bands because of the structures and catchy songs on this first effort. So another poppy industrial band? No, not exactly. Kaos Krew definitely has some influences from industrial, but also from AOR, hard rock and metal. In the first song ‘Trust Me’ you probably think ‘aah another poppy industrial band’.

But I wonder if you will say the same when you’ve heard ‘Devour’. A refrain that could have been written by Devin Townsend (with less recording tracks). And a guitar solo that would be appreciated by progrock fans. The technical guitar work is mixed with some hooky riffs and it’s the same with the vocals. Sometimes through effects and reminds me of a lighter version of Ministry or closer; Gravity Kills. But in some refrains there are multiple voices singing a refrain that could stay in your head for a couple of days. Important thing: they know how to rock, listen to the end of ‘Coffin Nails’ and you know what I mean. Or the up-tempo beat in ‘Fat Chance’. Normally, I like my industrial raw and heavy. But for Kaos Krew I make an exception. This is a surprising record that grew every time I listened to it. The production is a little bit cheesy, but that doesn’t matter, it does not take the attention away from the music. Now I hope this is not a one-time record, because they are good in making music.