AHNA – Crimson Dawn CS (Caligari Records)

AHNA is one of the coolest recent findings that once again validates my point about the mindblowing quality of the Vancouver scene. British Columbia has always been home to marvelous bands who’re sincerely into underground music, radical enough to bend genre postulates to accomplish some new musical frontiers. AHNA wander through underground crust punk scene since 2008 with some exciting releases pointing out from their back catalog. Like most of their predecessors hailing from Vancouver, AHNA carries more genres altogether rather than a classic crust punk sound. Besides some crust punk aesthetics, the band delivers recognizable Swedish death metal sound, improved with abrasive particles of British stenchcore. The dominance of death metal accentuations graciously overlays the eighties’ crust punk orchestrations with delicate exactness and recognizable technicalities. There’s also an exceptional crossover thrash metal ambiance purposely added to intensify the overall listening experience. Therefore, AHNA is comparable to some renowned groups who shaped the genre, such as Possessed, Entombed, Sacrilege, and Deviated Instinct, among many others. These mutated combinations have resulted in a very complex material comprised of seven brilliant compositions that hover somewhere between old school sound and contemporary music trends. AHNA solely relies on dominant melodic death metal guitar shreddings, accompanied by echoic solo accentuations, which retain things more appealing. These technicalities smoothly transit into more dense crossover thrash, crust punk, grindcore, and stenchcore riffages, depending on the arrangements. The group essentially clutches depressive sounding melodies as the centerpiece of the sound, empowered by even more grimy harmonizations over the top. Guitar sequences are nicely paired with outstanding basslines, massive enough to enhance mentioned shreddings even more. This low-end tones also fill in the gaps between guitars and astonishing rhythmical maneuvers. AHNA liberates nocturne, fierce and apocalyptic visions through structured instrumentations, simultaneously sophisticated and chaotic at the same time. Crimson Dawn demonstrates nothing but the ultimate power through relentless virtuosities, gracious aggression, and vigorous rhythmical acrobatics. Crimson Dawn is available as a cassette release thanks to Caligari Records.