Review Summary: A decent first effort from the Czech cyberpunks, but room for improvement.
Plague Called Humanity are a cyberpunk/digital hardcore band out of the Czech Republic. Their first EP “Disconnection” is a decent effort at combining raw hardcore aggression with catchy electronic beats and is something of a diamond in the rough.
The electronics place a lot of emphasis on atmosphere in the music, with the entirely electronic intro track “Plague” setting the scene for a dark, nihilistic EP. However, the electronics in “Doomed Generation” feel somewhat generic and everything seems to plod along without ever kicking off the way it promises to at times. “Mrtvy Svět” picks up the pace a bit but ends somewhat suddenly which feels quite jarring. However, it’s a decent track along with “The Truth” and the doom-laden “Disconnect” rounds things out nicely for the original tracks. “The Truth” is probably the best track on the EP, with the electronics really driving the song and Cypher’s guitars adding extra urgency to the music.
With English not being their native tongue, I won’t put too much emphasis on the lyrics themselves, but they seem to be focussed on an anti-establishment stance, railing against government surveillance and the bleak futures being left for young people. The lyrics aren’t the strongest but I’ll forgive that, as they tackle difficult themes to sing about in a language that they may not speak very well. Alex, the vocalist, delivers his lines with conviction and credit has to be given for that.
The second half of the EP is remixes, and I generally tend to ignore those in album reviews so won’t go into detail about them here. Overall we have a well produced first effort. There’s definitely room for improvement but also a rawness which makes it a fun listen. As a free download, there’s not really anything to lose by checking it out.
Original review can be found here: http://youngandbrokeandpissed.tumblr.com/post/156244680682/ep-review-plague-called-humanity-disconnection
