itlookssinister - s/t (2026)
By Flork
Born from a particular tension and resilience of life in Eastern Slovakia, a cultural space slightly removed from Slovakia’s capital-centric spotlight, the Košice quartet itlookssinister released their self-titled debut earlier this month confirming that marginality often fuels underground scenes everywhere on this planet. Hardcore, especially, has served as both an outlet and organising force, since it’s community-driven and usually DIY, as well as emotionally direct. Historically, bands from Košice have leaned towards metallic precision or crust-inflected rawness, creating a sound that is both urgent and introspective. And so, in that kind of lineage, itlookssinister is somewhat connected to, yet distinct in this light, since they are less concerned with orthodoxy and more interested in atmosphere and symbolic weight. And as a young quartet, they already sound expansive, as if trying to project Košice far beyond its regional boundaries.
The album opens with …drak (…dragon), a fast-paced tune that immediately establishes scale and menace. I love this track with the guitars feeling serrated but controlled. The rhythm section locks itself in very well, with a physical, almost claustrophobic force. Following this, stockholm, 1969 compresses anxiety into a tight, explosive burst. This tune had been previously released as a demo a couple of years back, but makes its way onto the full-length album with a bit of polish through clever mastering (or at least it seems that way). Many of the songs are cleverly composed and include lighter guitar-picking as opposed to bar chords. Take cerro torre for example, which channels upward momentum, with riffs climbing like the mountain it references before falling back into distortion. The production balances clarity with abrasion, and the mastering by Oliver Dragun preserves the grit without sacrificing impact. I like the percussion in this track (and elsewhere on the album), as well as the bass which sits thick in the mix, and the vocals cut through without overpowering the instrumentation. Visually, the album‘s cover by Vlada Rakovska reinforces the band‘s ambition, depicting a dragon clutching what appears to be a globe. It‘s a simple image that suggests both destruction and guardianship, sort of a fitting metaphor for a Košice band aiming outward.
The midsection of the album broadens the emotional palette. tsurugi (Tsurugi – Japanese sword) slices with deliberate precision and stretches the band‘s structure into a more narrative and layered component. The vocals are full of raw emotion here, desperate and scared (ja to nevidím....). enfants (children) also carries a brittle vulnerability beneath its aggression, despite its light intro, hinting at fractured innocence. By this point, you should be aware that itlookssinister has mastered the art of contrast with layers of depthness, despite the lighter instrumentation.
The heaviest conceptual weight arrives with spalovač mrtvol (The Cremator), which is a suffocating and methodical track that builds dread before collapsing into catharsis. Personally, this track is my favourite as it contains all of the above-mentioned elements I described earlier. And finally, večerníček... (bedtime story / children’s TV tale) closes the album, unfolding over more than five minutes (the longest track on the album), beginning almost restrained before expanding into a final, engulfing surge. Pure brilliance if you ask me.
And the Florkman's prognosis? This is a cool album full of energy and emotion. Beyond that simplicity lies its real strength: authenticity. For a debut, itlookssinister sounds confident without being complacent, and maintains its ambitions without losing its hardcore nexus. If this is the foundation, the future of this Košice quartet looks not only promising, but fiercely alive.
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