Ankla
Steep Trails

December 2007
Released: 2007, Bieler Brothers
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

It’s amazing to think that mallcore has been plaguing us for a decade now. Thankfully it’s been slowly dying for at least the last five years, but there are stragglers out there who insist on plying their trade, to the detriment of good taste everywhere. I guess you have to give them credit for sticking to their guns, no matter how bleak the outlook is. Case in point is Ramon Ortiz, guitarist and main man behind Ankla. He flirted with success in the late ‘90s with Puya, but since that band failed it would seem he’s been trying to re-establish himself.



The problem here is that his new band, Ankla, is doing absolutely nothing original or worthwhile. They’ve got the standard screamed vocals and down-tuned riffs that we all got tired of back in 1997. In an attempt to spice up their music, the band does employ a tribal percussionist, but again, that’s been done (Sepultura and Soulfly being the prime examples). The best thing I can say about this album is that the guys are proficient musicians. However that doesn’t make up for the recycled riffs and dull vocal performance of Ikaro Stafford. This is purely entry-level mallcore for those that don’t know any better.



Albums like this irritate me because they are so difficult to write about. Sure, I don’t like STEEP TRAILS at all, but it’s not horrible enough to inspire true hate or loathing. It’s just kind of there...bloating up my album collection until I can foist it off on some poor sod. Any takers? Thought not.