AlbumsNovember 29, 201114,123 views

Kowloon Walled City Gambling on the Richter Scale


Gambling on the Richter Scale
01. Annandale 02. Diabetic Feet 03. Clockwork 04. Sleep Debt 05. Paper Houses 06. Gambling on the Richter Scale 07. Bone Loss 08. More Like the Shit Factory
2009 The Perpetual Motion Machine
Our score 9

by Nick
10/19/2009

Kowloon Walled City has the entire idea of "heavy" figured out. With a sound that most resembles a down-tuned Unsane, the San Francisco foursome unleashes ungodly levels of low-end accompanied by intelligent guitar work on Gambling on the Richter Scale. Simply put, listeners will be hard pressed to find a record from 2009 that has a greater selection of massive grooves. And once those grooves are soaked in sheets of satisfying feedback and backed by thunderous drumming, things start to get heavenly. It's got all of the AmRep revival qualifications, but goes a step further by working in a touch of Neurosis' earthmoving mentality. Does it sound too good to be true Maybe. But that's why this just might be the new standard for the overlap of sludge metal and noise rock territories. First and foremost, the bass tone on this record is unbelievable. Just listen to the underlying lines of disc opener, "Annandale," when the guitars move away from the main riff to paint layers of beefy, dual leads. The bass lines are impressively thick, yet perfectly discernable, avoiding the trap of what can go wrong when a little too much bass distortion washes away actual melody. No, not here. Instead, there's just the perfect amount of crunch to anchor each groove and allow a little more freedom for the band's pair of six-stringers. Gambling on the Richter Scale without a doubt succeeds on account of the thick riffs that come about when the bass and both guitars all take on the same line at different octaves, but it's some of the more expansive guitar work that leaves the record with a memorable feel. With such a strong bass presence, there's no reason why the band's guitarists shouldn't be exploring an abundance of mid-range layered harmonies. Luckily for us, the opportunity has not gone wasted. In that respect, there's definitely a bit of a(n) (early) Baroness or (4/4 time signature friendly) Keelhaul feel that's a recurring theme on the album. Raise the Red Lantern's smart blend of catchy rock with sludge tones also comes to mind. Couple that with ruthless drumming and an absolutely grating vocal performance from frontman Scott Evans and KWC has all of its bases completely covered. But covered might be too light of a word. Nailed, perfected, mercilessly bulls-eyed -- these are a bit more fitting. Gambling on the Richter Scale came out in a year with some mighty contenders for heaviest record of the year. Some will make the argument for Burnt by the Sun's Heart of Darkness. Others will go for Black Cobra's Chronomega. Not me. This is the heaviest record of 2009, and with that on its resume, it deserves to be labeled as nothing less than completely mandatory listening material. Bottom Line: Kowloon Walled City's Gambling on the Richter Scale represents a wonderful blend of the grooves of Unsane, the heaviness of Neurosis, and the memorable, layered guitar work of Keelhaul and early Baroness. If that fails to excite you, then you're in the wrong place. Oh, and one more time for the road: it's heavy. Heavy, heavy, heavy.

47 comments

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hotslutswithtits_ 10/19/2009 10:41:52 PM

oh great another one of these gay bands. lets all dangle from their nuts gays. f*cking gays

Matthew Davis_ 10/19/2009 10:42:17 PM

So finally an actual good album release. I don't know if it deserves a 9/10... possible a 7/10. Then records like doomriders, the network, and darkest hour are getting good reviews... Heavy record is correct. First Post, Eat A Dick

little_pink_cat_anus_ 10/19/2009 10:44:46 PM

*squeezes out several smooth round turd nuggets onto piss poor review of a piss poor album, leaves a little bit stuck to wrinkles rear*

dropthepin_ 10/19/2009 10:51:12 PM

so is this heavy?

the_end_is_heavy__ 10/19/2009 11:20:32 PM

this record is heavy, but not the heaviest record of 2009... neither is BBTS. also, this record is good...but not 9/10 good.

observethemoon_ 10/20/2009 1:23:57 AM

It may be "heavy," but is that what *really* matters, Nicholas?

>>>METAL DOLPHIN<<<_ 10/20/2009 2:18:22 AM

sleek & sloppy. garlic and bones. fart doctors.

Akuma_ 10/20/2009 2:27:47 AM

I heard their demo a couple of years ago and it was good, so I'll have to check this out.

hulkhogansmullet_ 10/20/2009 9:24:26 AM

if this is heavy....then i'm bored. 6/10

Godfather_ 10/20/2009 9:55:59 AM

Heaviest record? come on, also way to completely forgot to mention will haven in this. This is a great record, but it deserves a better review with much more knowledge.

Omegaman_ 10/20/2009 12:20:24 PM

Yeah, good band, shit review, par for the course.

Zach_ 10/20/2009 12:36:12 PM

9/10 is way too f*cking high for this. It's an alright record, but the new standard for this type of sound? Yeah, whatever. 6-7/10 at the very best

Zach_ 10/20/2009 12:38:08 PM

And I'd imagine he didn't mention Will Haven because they f*cking suck.

redandblackink_ 10/20/2009 1:17:20 PM

this band is cool.

fast ass_ 10/20/2009 1:24:38 PM

this reviewer should change his name to heavy idiot

heavymannnn_ 10/20/2009 2:20:15 PM

so really low tuning = creative and HEAVY bro i just went to the myspace and if you think this is 9/10 you should be embarrassed because your musical opinion is horrific.

Godfather_ 10/20/2009 3:44:32 PM

And I'd imagine he didn't mention Will Haven because they f*cking suck. posted by Zach () on 10/20/2009 12:38:08 PM The tone on the guitars, jackass... it reeks of carpe diem. Try a bit harder.

Zach_ 10/20/2009 3:50:42 PM

Try a bit harder to do what? Express the fact that Will Haven is f*cking garbage?

makemecum_ 10/20/2009 5:20:04 PM

bros, bros, come on, just have fun already. queers and retards were meant to be together.

xote_ 10/20/2009 5:47:52 PM

No read most other replies but yes this album does rule. Considering how every review is a 7/10 here the 9/10 does work... although on any other site with better scoring it would be a 7/10.

maurice_ 10/20/2009 8:03:34 PM

i've like to wrap my lips around two heavy, beefy, dual leads....if you know what i mean.

Fur_Beach11_ 10/20/2009 8:04:39 PM

I don't like their name. Carpe Diem was good for its time.

what_is_wrong_with_you_ 10/20/2009 10:03:11 PM

for once, a good review from Nick. great album.

xCHOCOLATE_THUNDERx_ 10/21/2009 12:21:58 AM

okay did anyone else frantically go to their search bar and type in kowloon walled city after reading the first paragraph or so to check them out then procede to throw their computer into the fires of mount doom because what they heard was horrible muddy and really sloppy and just ...well...FRUSTRATINGLY boring????

hotaction_ 10/21/2009 9:33:43 AM

dudessss you just gotta be in the right state of mind..NAH MEAN

five1six_trendflipx1000_ 10/21/2009 12:20:05 PM

Will Haven is stoked. Review FLip!!

anaturaldisaster_ 10/21/2009 1:53:57 PM

These comments are pretty sad.

Godfather_ 10/21/2009 3:15:46 PM

No chocolate thunder, you must have clicked on another band called that. I supposed you want lifeless Zeuss production?

jeff_ 10/21/2009 4:24:58 PM

the bass tone is unbelievable? based on what? the fret clacking or the fact that his amp is physically uncapable of clearly producing the crap he slamming out. and the guitars sound like they were played with a crate practice amp and a boss metal zone.

Godfather_ 10/21/2009 5:44:25 PM

all i think about is sucking c-ck

xCHOCOLATE_THUNDERx_ 10/21/2009 6:56:17 PM

its not even the recording that has me it just sounds like everyones instruments are broken OR just shitty to begin with like jeff was saying in the end the mix sounds nice everythings balanced its just a balance of shit and c-m drenched placentas

themoustachemassacre_ 10/22/2009 11:54:25 AM

Great album. Shit review.

hotaction_ 10/22/2009 12:30:24 PM

a lot of dumb comments here.

bonershock_ 10/22/2009 2:25:20 PM

album rules. does sound a little will havenish but since will haven hasnt written a decent song in like 10 years, its nice to see a band succeed at that sound. shits heavy and awesome. recording is ok, especially since this isnt victory or trustkill gay-metal.

anonymous 10/22/2009 4:13:36 PM

this bands name should kill itself

anonymous 10/22/2009 4:43:41 PM

stay away from cds that sound like...neurosis, isis, baroness, intronaut, blah blah blah blah....same shit over and over and over again

ghetto_paul_ 10/23/2009 12:52:10 AM

they have the album up on their website for free i can kinda see why. i'm dozing off here a bit

xaeonsx_ 10/23/2009 12:59:06 AM

neurosis, isis, and intronaut are some of my favorite bands &gt;:O

Godfather_ 10/23/2009 10:43:30 AM

stay away from cds that sound like...neurosis, isis, baroness, intronaut, blah blah blah blah....same shit over and over and over again posted by () on 10/22/2009 4:43:41 PM This cd has a little Baroness Flourish in one song it doesn't sound like Isis, It doesn't sound like Intronaut and it doesn't sound like Neurosis either.

Shellac_01_ 10/23/2009 11:25:21 AM

Just listened on their MySpace page and their older stuff is better than this groove-wankery. I just don't understand this overly groovy music that has nothing else to offer.

Omegaman_ 10/23/2009 3:47:35 PM

Other than Unsane, I don't get any of the comparisons. Review should just say "if you like Unsane, you'll probably like this, if you don't...."

eh_ 10/24/2009 2:15:22 AM

Unsane kinda sucks

Godfather_ 10/24/2009 6:31:34 AM

Only a gay would say that.

anonymous 10/27/2009 8:10:11 PM

this is pretty f*ckin good

anon_ 10/30/2009 6:30:37 PM

yeah. this is exactly what Unsane would sound like if you took out everything that makes them good.

anonymous 11/7/2009 12:03:11 PM

they actually have really loud gear with the exception of the shit bass player.

blood_meridian_ 5/10/2010 6:03:17 AM

Loud, clean bass tones with tons of gain probably sound like shit with garbage enhanced-bass headphones. Heavy is an aesthetic you f*cking retards, an aesthetic this band has figured out. All the low frequency recording tricks in the world couldn't make haircut hardcore heavy. also, lol at all the newgays who've never listened to sludge or noise rock before. If you're bored by this shit, I'm sure there are plenty of windmill bands engaging in instrumental histrionics for you c*nts to sin