by the early 90s the metal genre had grown overly technical and cold. the genre was simply drowning. then suddenly, from the Norwegian forests and mountains came a genre known as blackened metal. this was a genre that stood out in stark contrast to the other metal genres. it was lo-fi, had shrieking and painful vocals, no palm mutes and no concern as to whether it was actually technically impressive or not. it was simply raw. Iskra are kind of to punk rock what Darkthrone were to metal. it is raw, it is heavy, it is in your face like nothing like it – and it is awesome. this demo of lo-fi Amebix-like “blackened crust”. Iskra crosses black metal with crust. and the result is a very heavy form of crust with black metal guitars, kind of resembling Burzum (on speed). it also has much in common with the 90s power violence scene in terms of the political lyrics and how raw the music is. one detail Iskra does not share with black metal at all however is the sentiments that are evident in their lyrics. this is without a doubt anarchist punk rock, as creative and interesting as the likes of Rudimentary Peni and Crass. you will basically need to hear this to get this – so download it and have a go!