
I have never heard the works of the Bottlekopf band before. But in the flood of new music that appears on the market, it is probably no wonder that bands without a large label and budget for promotion have lesser chance to reach the audience. From the biographical note, you can learn that the band was founded in 2010 in Katowice and has already released an album. The previous Bottlekopf release, “Absolutely Nothing” from 2014, and the latest “The Jokes Are Over” were released thanks to the label Wydawnictwo Muzyczne Psycho. As you can see with the naked eye, looking at the dates and discography, Bottlekopf is not a super prolific band. Of course, this is due to various factors, including frequent changes of members or personal problems. However, the core member of the band, who has been in the band since its beginning, and is constantly pulling this band forward, is the guitarist and vocalist Marek “Chłosta” Szefer, and on “The Jokes Are Over”, he is supported by bassist Tymoteusz Herman (the current bassist is Radosław Surówka) and drummer Marcin “Martino” Glanda. The material for the second album was recorded in this line-up.
Looking at the cover, I was expecting some kind of fast brutal and chaotic death metal storm about war and general destruction, before I saw bottles of beer falling from the plane instead of bombs. This, in turn, dangerously reminded me of some kind of festive and entertaining metal to listen to over a beer or other alcohol-drenched parties. Fortunately, neither of these options was confirmed.
Bottlekopf combines in its style thrash metal riffs with death’n’roll dynamics and sound, a lot of heavy groove and a pinch of hardcore expression, especially in the vocal department, which I personally associate with vocalists like Pro-Pain’s Gary Meskil, Max and Derrick from Sepultura and even the polish native Flapjack. In terms of lyrics, the topics covered are often social and personal issues. They describe our everyday life, complicated relationships and personal dilemmas. So it’s not just music for headbangin and pouring beer into your throat. There album is varied with some short and longer track, and even two instrumentals. Shorter tracks are more direct, bluntly shouted out by Chłosta. They’re adjoin by longer tracks, which are intricately built, with more sophisticated riffs, introduction and development, and quite neat solo parts. Of course, we are not talking about the musicians’ super acrobatics – Bottlekopf gains the best in medium paces, like a B 52 bomber, it prefers a bulky groove over blitzkrieg speed. Songs like “Seven and a Half” or “Six Six” are tight and even. Promoting single “My breath”, for example, is the most melodic piece on the album perhaps, with it’s Motorhead-goes-death metal drive, you can’t stop the foot stomps by itself and head bangs. Longer pieces are also interesting, for example the first piece after the intro, “Justice”, which is purely instrumental for the first minutes. The longest on the plate “Brainwash” has a similar design, it builds up slowly, with atmospheric guitar part. There is even heavy rocking blues in “Dead Blues”. Album has got plenty moments where you can hang your ear.
In terms of production, the album sounds very nice. The guitars sound selectively, they are well-recorded, the bass is perfectly audible, which I like very much, that’s not so often found on records. The drums are beefy. Vocals are hoarse . Maybe it’s a bit dry, the guitars could be fleshier, but that’s an individual matter. It does not bother me with my reception of the album. You can hear the musicians’ experience from the years of playing on the domestic underground scene. You can hear and feel that this is what they want to play, without looking at the trends, without reaching the audience or label. It’s not mainstream, it’s not wholesale music. Bottlekopf goes back to the 90s. To the sound of bands such as Biohazard, Pro-pain, Machine Head, death’n’roll albums of Entombed, or drive of Unleashed from the period of albums like “Victory” or “Warrior”.
The album lasts 46 minutes, which is reasonably, but I think that if it the intro and the last instrumental track were cut, nothing bad would have happened. “The Jokes Are Over” is a well-thought-out proposition. Very well done. Much fun. Certainly, this material will sound great at concerts, in live action. I wish the band that the next material will be done faster and congratulations on the new album. And I also express my respect for the consequences and perseverance in going their own way. I recommend that you listen to Bottlekopf proposition and I think that it should appeal to all those who started their adventure with heavy sounds in the 90s.
darkuss3 09/03/22