Review by Vladimir on October 8, 2023.

In the Serbian metal scene, there are quite a few bands that are simultaneously crazed onstage maniacs and party-thrashers, some of the well-known ones being War Engine, Chemical Tomb and Nadimač. However, recently there’s been a new addition in the form of a crossover thrash/hardcore punk band MoshPit from Mošorin. Although the band frequently say on and off stage that they are from Mošorin for comedic purposes, they are actually from Novi Sad. They recently put out their debut 4-track EP MOGU on their official Bandcamp page on October 4th, with all four songs sung in Serbian language. Without wasting too much time and beer, let’s talk about the EP itself, shall we? 

Their first track 'Nervozan' (Nervous) starts with a slower mid-tempo rhythm which would suddenly end before switching to a fast thrashing with crossover elements and hardcore punk styled shouting vocals by Novica Etinski. The track itself is only a minute and a half long, but for this short time it manages to give a short and solid introduction to what you can expect to hear on this EP. The music frequently switches between their hardcore punk and crossover thrash, with the exception being the second track 'Debeli' (Fat) which in style is predominantly hardcore punk but on top of that it managed to squeeze in a breakdown at the end which is very reminiscent of Pantera’s "Domination". The absolute banger of a song and my personal favorite, is the last track 'Pendrek U Rebra' (Baton in the ribs) which starts with a bass guitar riff before riffs, drums and vocals kick you like baton in the ribs even with its short span of 2 minutes. The overall songwriting is very simple and straightforward crossover thrash with hardcore punk elements here and there, and the songs actually do a good job at entertaining you despite the fact that they are quite short. When it comes to the lyrical themes, they vary from Alcohol and Party to Society and Problems, all of which are represented in both a satirical and symbolical manner. The last track in particular heavily deals with the theme of Serbian authority and police brutality, and it even includes quotes from Slobodan Milošević and Aleksandar Vučić, both of which are very similar side by side. The sound production is pretty solid and I think that it did a really good job with the vocals and guitar tone, while also managing to give some life to the bass guitar and drums.

MoshPit’s debut EP is very entertaining and fun to listen to even though it’s about 9 and half minutes long. This EP is a short but good introduction to what the band represents on their local scene and I believe a lot of people feel the same way as I do. I had the pleasure of seeing them on-stage when they were performing a couple of days ago at our local metal festival ZLO FEST in SKC Fabrika club and they totally delivered as an opening band. They did a good job at entertaining the audience, even while opening the show with the metal cover of SpongeBob SquarePants. I hope that we’ll get more from MoshPit in the near future and I believe that they will bring out more fun and banging songs to the table for their next release. 

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Joshua on March 25, 2005.

There are two parts to this album: eight new tracks, aggressive and intense but not focused on punishing speed; and four tracks remastered from an early demo, which are basically incoherent shit formed by pummeling the lowest guitar string into oblivion.

The rest of this review focuses completely on the new material. You can just think of the demo material as bonus tracks, assuming that you're into garbled, childish monotonal screaming with a mediocre production. I'd recommend just ignoring them.

You won't find the hyperfast brutality of their early material here, so stop looking. Krisiun opted for a slightly slower approach, with greater focus on songwriting. This is not to say that they've created something melodic or accessible. I said “slightly,” didn't I? No, it remains quite aggressive, atonal, and harsh, with a heavy emphasis on technical finesse over melody. In fact, their ability to write memorable, dissonant compositions shines through remarkably well on this album. Draw parallels to the last (phenomenal) Behemoth album as you like here – they're extremely similar in many places.

Simply put, the difference between Bloodshed and earlier work is that most notes are discernible. Most of their old albums blur into an indistinct and cacophonous buzz, like a Morbid Angel record played at 78 rpm. In contrast, this album features some clever instrumental segues that balance out their dissonant sound manipulation nicely.

Much of their earlier work was one collective superficial blast beat, hammered out to cover up either lazy writing or cocaine addiction. They're about equally probable. On the other hand, this album relegates the blast beats to a minimum, showcasing Max Kolesne's percussive talent without overshadowing the impressive abilities of Krisiun's other members. “Hateful Nature” is a perfect transitional example, while “Ominous” also reminds me of older material; their characteristic sound isn't gone, but it's been honed and distilled.

The slower sound on Bloodshed works a minor miracle for Krisiun, showing a creativity and depth that their old albums lacked conspicuously. Dissonant and innovative, menacing and memorable, this will appeal best to fans of Morbid Angel and Behemoth. Even so, anybody with an ear for dissonance should like this album – and, if not, you can always put the ridiculous demo material on repeat ad nauseum.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Originality: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.6 out of 10