Cassette Review: Mold/Shoto "Split" (Already Dead Tapes and Records)

[$5 // Edition of 100 // https://alreadydeadtapes.bandcamp.com/album/ad213-mold-shoto-split]

I've never been opposed to a split cassette when it can be a way of being exposed to two artists you otherwise might not hear, but when it comes from Already Dead you also know that you are in for a treat.    I'm not sure where to go with the name Shoto, but I do know that Mold makes me think of Bob Mould until I pressed play on this one.

Mold begins this split cassette with this sound of dark rock.  It's instrumental at first and has this classic, "Desperado" type of feel to it.   It almost goes into that non-holiday Trans Siberian Orchestra idea before singing comes out and reminds me of Chiodos.  It does sound like Chiodos at first, but then the vocals get deeper, gritty and it turns into a metal/Mars Volta type of sound.   It definitely has that feeling of being music over lyrics, but it is also rather complex, brooding and almost like something out of "The Phantom of the Opera" even.

On the flip side, Shoto has a more aggressive, metal going into hardcore sound even though it is backed by classic rock n roll.   Now, I've listened to bands in the past that have been hardcore/metal + rock n roll but this doesn't actually sound like any of them.   I can hear bits of Led Zeppelin and even The James Gang, but then it can turn into screaming, growling, a fury of guitars and jsut overall chaos that can be anywhere from something such as Fall Silent all the way to Darkest Hour.

What I enjoy most about this split cassette- and you should as well- is that both sides go hard without ever really sounding the same.   I could see these two bands sharing a stage, but you wouldn't find me confusing the sound of one with the other if I was, say, listening to a mixtape without paying attention to the tracklisting.    On top of that, these are two most excellent bands which need to be heard more outside of this split and, really, then you just have to wonder how you ever managed to survive without their delicate yet ruthless take on music in your life.