ARKATA

Band: ARKATA

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Screamo / Skramz / Metalcore / Black Metal / Post-Metal
Related artists: Siesta, Foreigns, Lightning For Legs, Venns, Horselover, Authors, Akroid, Nations, August and Eject.
Country: Toronto, Ontario CANADA
Years Active: 2000-2003
Song: "Own Private Chaos"
Album: "Your Lack of Attendance"
Year: 2001
For fans of: Loftus, Weak Wrists, Cold Craving, Machina Genova, The Assistant, Easy Lover, Circles Over Sidelights, Ruptures, The Love And Terror Cult, Litany For The Whale, Caitlyn Bailey, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Anodes, Crestfallen, Bury Me Standing, Uziel, O' God The White Whale, Black Kites, (early) The Bled, Examination Of The..., Jude The Obscure, Tel Fyr, La Mantra De Fhiqria, Beast Jesus, Majority Rule, (early) Curl Up And Die, Lyed and Circle Takes The Square aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Label(s): Fashion Machine
This post's artist is from the January 2017 Mix. This is track #4.

You can download: the January 2017 Mix#1 right here or get the new February 2017 Mix#2 here.

ARKATA recorded a handful of releases from 2000 to 2002 in a violent yet subtely melodic clusterfuck of hardcore, metal and screamo. The Toronto band sounded almost like a The Bled, Loftus, Weak Wrists and The Assistant conglomerate, but the closest and fairest comparisons would be Cold Craving and Loftus.

Their early work certainly does not pale in comparison to their later work, and literally everything by the band is worth checking out, even if demo versions seem to pop up regularly. The debut EP 'Box' was created in 2000 but mostly rerecorded for the 2001 'Your Lack of Attendance', save one song, the relatively chill "What's My Number?". Despite being the predecessor to an excellent sophomore album, they still retain their punch and are an interesting listen even after hearing the fleshed out and tightened 2001 material. Speaking of the 2001 material, 'Your Lack of Attendance' is seven songs of perfectly balanced metallic and screamy hardcore. Four of the songs were rerecorded and three others are brand spankin' new, including three of the best songs, "We are the Faithful", "Own Private Chaos" and "Money Calls It". "Own Private Chaos" is my personal favourite which juxtaposes dreamy and soft instrumentals (see Old Soul) with the danceable but heavy as fuck breakdowns of Loftus. The intro is intricately woven clean instrumentals and screaming (think Swan Of Tuonela or maybe even Saetia) until 1:08 when the first catchy-ass breakdown hooks hard. "The Absence of Truth" is the closer and packs a fucking wallop not but 14 seconds in, as you've got the first avalanche of menacing breakdowns followed by some passionate screaming of, "It's all that I have!" and closing with the audio equivalent of death at exactly two minutes in.

2002 was the final year for ARKATA, but the Toronto band recorded a bunch of songs (14 over 3 releases, to be exact) before their demise. The first was the 'Fabric/Portrait' two-song EP which is good but doesn't match the beautiful balancing act of the much aforementioned 'Your Lack of Attendance'. The next four-song EP titled 'The Last Dance' is excellent and is a worthy continuation of the 2001 release. The songs "Atmosphere" and "Diminutive" are killer tracks, as the former is really fucking dark (those dual vocals and stop/start thing they got going at 42 seconds in are stupid good) while the latter houses some of the most epic and melodic passages ARKATA ever concocted, a prime example being the section beginning 36 seconds in and again at 1:25. The final release is a collection of the demos from a session for 'Where & When' that contain a total of 8 tracks and may or may not have been intended for a final LP. The demos range in quality, with some vocals sounding just a bit off at points, but songs like "Down With Pants", "Weiners n' Tang" and "The Trunk of My Car" are fucking bangers. "The Trunk of My Car" is my personal favourite on this final recording even though it's just the new demo of "Atmosphere". It seems pretty noticeable at this point that ARKATA had shed most of their early screamo tendencies and immersed themselves more in their metallic post-hardcore sound. This shift is kind of like listening to 'Hugs and Drugs' era Loftus followed by early Curl Up And Die.

I've only just discovered this hidden gem. Bask in this with me, it's awesome.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2000 - Box EP (stream/donate/download here)

2001 - Your Lack of Attendance EP (stream/donate/download here)

2002 - Fabric/Portrait EP (stream/donate/download here)
2002 - The Last Dance EP (stream/donate/download here)
2002 - Where & When demo EP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2002) ARKATA - "Atmosphere" (from 'The Last Dance')

(2002) ARKATA - "Diminutive" (from 'The Last Dance')

(2002) ARKATA - "Down With Pants" (from 'Where & When demo')

(2002) ARKATA - "Weiners 'n Tang" (from 'Where & When demo')

(2002) ARKATA - "Fabric" (from 'Fabric/Portrait')

(2001) ARKATA - "The Absence of Truth" (from 'Your Lack of Attendance')

(2001) ARKATA - "Own Private Chaos" (from 'Your Lack of Attendance')

(2001) ARKATA - "We are the Faithful" (from 'Your Lack of Attendance')

(2000) ARKATA - "What's My Number?" (from 'Box')

(2000) ARKATA - "Complacent (Going Down)" (from 'Box')

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ARKATA additional links

Label's Bandcamp

Label's Facebook

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