“The Crisis of Existence” is the latest release by Sutras, an excellent American duo based in Washington, DC. After releasing four incredible singles, of which three ended up as part of this marvelous release, Sutras decided to unleash a set of six profoundly moving, melodic, energetic tracks that will immediately resonate with everyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music. As we previously wrote in a review of “Awakening Of The Spirit,” Sutras’ members identify as the Dharma punk collective. They embrace Buddhist principles of suffering, suggesting that enlightenment can be achieved through art by merging punk rock ethics and Dharma teachings. Therefore, their lyrics often contemplate life, love, sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, finding a deeper meaning, so “The Crisis of Existence” carries highly relatable songs that will immediately resonate with the broader auditorium. Sonically, Sutras continue with an already-defined sound. Perhaps melodic hardcore comes to mind first, but you will notice so many elements of melodic punk rock, post-hardcore, neocrust, screamo, sludge, and post-metal lurking around. Think of Modern Life Is War meeting Have Heart or Touche Amore collaborating with Drug Church. Their influences collide harmoniously here, yet Sutras resonate with fresh, unique, innovative, versatile styles rarely heard or seen nowadays. They expertly blend melody and rawness, subtlety and aggression, slowness and dynamics, calmness and groove, creating catchy, memorable, engaging soundscapes that immediately wrap around your ears.
“Karma To Burn” opens up this epic sonic journey, demonstrating what you might expect from the remainder of the material. The anthemic singalongs at the very beginning sounds so sincere and powerful, promising a wild ride through the melodic hardcore universe. This track immediately transports you back into the early noughties realm, when melodic hardcore reigned supreme. The duo packed this composition with excellent guitar works, shaping a perfect backdrop for all those anthemic vocals to shine even brighter. The collision between raw, gritty, abrasive, colossal riffs and memorable, catchy, reverby leads, themes, melodies, and harmonies sounds divine, immediately dragging the listener even deeper into the song’s meanings. This track forces you to listen to what this band has to say, and their wisdom resonates profoundly. “Racing “Racing Sundown” comes up next, a more energetic hardcore punk track with generous servings of raw, sludgy distortion decorating every riff and chord progression. Although this track packs even more grittiness than the opening track, you’ll hear how every instrumental layer articulates perfectly without overwhelming the remainder of the instrumentations. The equally impressive rhythm section keeps everything in line with energetic beats and heavily distorted basslines that perfectly suit the song’s ambiance. These beats, breaks, fills, accentuations and other percussive acrobatics are solely responsible for all the dynamics packed in this song while the rich, deep, and heavy basslines offer more than necessary groove and depth. Details like these showcase Sutras’ fascinating dedication to the craft, proving they love what they do with this band.
Several next tracks showcase Sutras ability to blend calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal harmonies, melodies, and themes with colossal, heavy, powerful riffs. They do it in such a fresh and unique way by leaving enough space for every element to breathe yet everything works like a cohesive whole. On one side, there are all those guitar works that create a nearly cathartic ambiance while on the other you’ll notice all those immensely distorted riffs and basslines, crumbling and distorting notes like a steamroller went over them. Sutras somehow managed to blend these two opposites and create a harmonious wall of sounds that packs punches yet acts as a soul-healing seance. Tracks like “Bloom Watch” and “Working Class Devotion” exemplify their experimentations with these opposites, as the band fully stacked these two songs with so many segments where melody and harmony collide with rawness and aggression. “Being Nothing, Going Nowhere” closes this epic sonic journey with another barrage of powerful screams and shouts that expertly convey the message. In the meantime, the guitars gradually evolve with each chord progression, riff, melody, and theme, slowly providing a more complex soundscape that perfectly supports vocal performance. Beneath all these guitar works, warm yet subtly distorted basslines offer more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while binding all the mentioned orchestrations with drums. The drumming is exceptional as usual, with all those tastefully arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated rhythmic patterns offering dynamics, groove, and pace. The singalong parts in the end are such a nice addition, providing a conclusion to this epic sonic journey.
Sutras packed all their wisdom, ideas, skills, talent, experience, knowledge, and musicianship into this EP. “The Crisis of Existence” is an emotional sonic journey through a flawlessly crafted melodic hardcore universe. Each composition carries meaningful messages delivered in such a fresh, unique, and innovative way, proving that hardcore music still has so much to offer. If you’re looking for an outstanding melodic hardcore experience, performed with such passion and sincerity, then you must check out “The Crisis of Existence.” The EP is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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