REVIEW: Kulk - Choosing to Die
- Shania Richards
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
KULK are a band that can communicate a lot through meaningful lyricism without including very many vocals at all. Their second album, Choosing to Die, is no different. Encased in a shell of beautiful gloom packed in nine tracks, the album explores true lamentation. Through the art of thrashing guitars and resounding drums, the two-piece has firmly grasped how quickly idyllic realities can be shattered. They rely on music as their great communicator to present something bigger than every human being: the harsh reality of life and death.
The tone is set with the album’s opening track, An Endless Knife, with high-pitched whining guitars. Then, as though intent on impact, the haunting lyrics “Time ends us all” are screamed by vocalist/guitarist Thom Longdin. Before you know it, you’re steeped in sludge, and you would be wise to wade through it.
Making a short, fast-paced track is where KULK excel. Each track thunders in at three minutes forty, or often less. There is something rather punk about this, leaving you no choice but to devour each track quickly. We’re Worried About You is a prime example of this, coming in at precisely one minute thirty-seven. It crashes through like a whirlwind through the way it rips through riffs.Some tracks are deliberately sparser in their lyricism. Collapse begins with a haunting drone and contains a mere five words that are repeated (“Don’t take me / I am”). However, this does not detract from the energetic charge packed within the song. Once the tradition of lyrics in a song has passed, a grunge-y explosion occurs. It descends into guitars and drums that turn more frantic, like a drastic descent into madness.
Comparably, For Blood is where composure is gained, if only for a short while. After a thumping drum intro, the first minute and fifty seconds are dedicated to instruments that gradually gain momentum and urgency. Each song implies the bitterness at existence and the totality of this life. One does not have to claw to decipher the agony that permeates these tunes, which is foremost in the genre of doom.
The Saddest Holiday is where you feel the softness of love. A low-pitched guitar sound makes it akin to a waltz. Whether it is intentional or not is unknown. The rage of the first half simmers down to a quiet melancholy as words are softly sung. This feeling of sorrow continues into Ache as strings are introduced. To conclude, the album closes with ambient noise on the closing track Our Last Walk, giving the listener a chance to mull over what they have heard.
What’s particularly impressive is how KULK have achieved this release as a two-person show. The duo are composed of guitarist/vocalist Thom Longdin and drummer Jade Ashleigh Squires. Together, they prove they are well-equipped to show the world what they are made of. They have chosen not to tread with caution, laying out the inner workings of their minds for everyone to see.
KULK brush shoulders with great company on their label, Church Road Records, too. Sharing a label with the likes of HERIOT and EMPLOYED TO SERVE, it is doubtless they are exactly where they belong. Choosing to Die has earned its place amongst the gritty tunes their peers create.
Although naysayers exist who say heavy music has no meaning, they should understand it takes courage to be as vulnerable as KULK have been. To make music out of one’s grief is one of the most powerful things a musician can do. To centre that grief around your debut album is even more daring. Nevertheless, they put on a show for those who have chosen to devote themselves to hearing beyond harsh vocals.
On Choosing to Die, KULK have explored grief with blazing honesty. The album is designed to convey a poignant message about losing those you love, even if it means losing yourself in the process. If the album were a fruit, the flesh would be each song’s impenetrable toughness before it is pierced; the innards would be the tenderness towards loss. This deep intimacy should be cherished. It should be appreciated even more that KULK chose to spill the contents of their hearts for a wider audience.
Score: 8/10
Choosing to Die will be released on 28th August 2026 via Church Road Records.
Words: Shania Richards
Photos: Kulk
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