Russian Black Metal band LASHBLOOD has released their new EP "Plasticine People" earlier this year (2015). LASHBLOOD seems to pride themselves on originality and experimentation, their first album, "The Philosophy of Self Flagellation: Being and Nothing" was a great start for LASHBLOOD; the album had an interesting concept and was ever evolving. That, along with LASHBLOOD's clever use of the saxophone, made them stand out in the metal scene. From the sounds of their new EP, we have a lot more of LASHBLOOD's beautiful insanity to enjoy.

The EP features three new original songs along with two covers: DARKTHRONE's "Lifeless" and VOIVOD's "Mercury".  Both the covers kick ass; "Mercury" is much harder than the original; I am nearly tempted to label it as better than the original. The DARKTHRONE cover sounds the same, more or less, but it is a great tribute to DARKTHRONE. The original tracks on the album keep some of the feel from their previous album "The Philosophy of Self Flagellation". The tracks are still hard with LASHBLOOD's signature, boundary challenging experimental Black Metal sound but the group avoids anything that sounds too close to their previous release. "Plasticine People", the title track, adds in odd pseudo-Gregorian chants that make the track seem a bit goofy, reminiscent of Serj Tankian's oddball vocal style. "Cien Anos De Soledad" carries some of the same elements of "Plasticine People", however the saxophone that trailed at the end of "Plasticine People" is much more pronounced. With their previous full-length, LASHBLOOD wanted to capture the idea of self flagellation as a metaphor for change, "stripping away our layers" and the entire feel of that album is very dark and contemplative. With only three original tracks on the EP however, it's hard for me to pinpoint the theme they are going for (assuming it's anything) but it feels like some sort of schizophrenic church sermon. The EP gives a glimpse of some promising new tunes from LASHBLOOD, they create a fresh taste in the Metal scene, begging other bands to branch out of their genre's comfort zone.
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