Korol I Shut is widely recognized as one of Russia’s best punk bands. And yet, labelling them punk is seriously selling them short. Sure, the songs are generally short and very energetic, but Korol I Shut’s music is too experimental and melodic to be considered “just” punk. Taking their inspiration from horror punk, but replacing zombies by monsters from Slavic mythology and folklore, they took their music into every possible direction, from folky touches to borderline metal. ‘Bunt Na Korable’ is closer to the latter in its hardcore approach, but Korol I Shut refuses to give up its melodic memorability in the process.

Since Korol I Shut adopts a different approach on just about every album, their records may differ in appeal, but they are hardly ever short of interesting. ‘Bunt Na Korable’ takes two parts hardcore, two parts alternative rock, one part metal and lead guitar melodies that have a strong vibe and combines that into a admirably lumpless blend. Combined with the surprisingly theatrical vocal duo – Andrey Knyazev and the sometimes semi-gothic sounding Mikhail Gorshenyov – and some really strong riff work, ‘Bunt Na Korable’ rates as one of the band’s most consistent releases, along with its considerably more melodic follow-up ‘Prodavets Koshmarov’.

‘Hardkor Po-Russki’ serves as a bit if a mission statement for ‘Bunt Na Korable’. It’s not just the title of this opening track, the hard-hitting riffs and the measured aggression of Aleksandr Tsigolev’s drumming also show that this is going to be a relatively propulsive album immediately. The track that best embodies this philosophy, however, is ‘Ispoved Vampira’, which has the fastest palm-muted riffs on the record. Guitarists Aleksandr Leontyev and Yakov Tsvirkunov have an enviable precision that almost pushes the song into thrash metal territory. ‘Inkvisitor’ is even further into it and highly recommended to fans of that particular genre.

When the band goes into a more melodic direction, they are just as convincing. ‘Mest Garri’ was wisely chosen as the single for the album, as it is no less driven than the other tracks, but carried by a handful of strong, slightly melancholic melodies and the rhythms of Tsigolev and bassist Aleksandr Balunov are definitely more roomy than on the faster tracks. ‘Idol’ mixes the two approaches together, while ‘Zvonok’ is almost the Slavic forest version of Kyuss’ more straightforward songs. ‘Severny Flot’, on the other hand, is a downright excellent alternative rock track with reverberating clean guitars and massive chord and melody structures.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the issues of mislabeling a band. Korol I Shut sort of fell victim to that as well. That’s not to say that they are not a punk band at the core, but they have so much more to offer than that. Even ‘Bunt Na Korable’, that not unlike their self-titled album stays relatively close to that punk core, displays some of the most inventive songwriting I have ever heard within the context of a band whose songwriting is not all that complicated.

Recommended tracks: ‘Severny Flot’, ‘Ispoved Vampira’, ‘Mest Garri’, ‘Inkvisitor’