Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Premonitions of War - Left in Kowloon (2004)

In the first half of the 2000s, metalcore was on the rise in the hardcore punk part of the rock spectrum, whereas the extreme metal part condemned it as mediocre. Bands at the time like Between the Buried and Me, Burnt by the Sun, and The Red Chord sound so original to the more hardcore ears, yet the originality is invisible to metal purists. This band, Premonitions of War had just been signed to popular hardcore label Victory after releasing an EP via Goodfellow records. That EP, The True Face of Panic was a massive boost in maturity compared to the disaster that was their debut EP. And I think there's more maturity to come in their sole full album...

Sounding like an attempt to revive Coalesce's sound during that band's hiatus, Premonitions of War had leveled up their quality slightly more in Left in Kowloon. With the album at the hands of Victory, the more extreme hardcore fans can really dig into the action. It's really short at just 26 minutes, following the hardcore trait of studio albums as short as EPs. Their intentions was short sweet songwriting, and they've achieved that goal!

"Mother Night Revisited" opens with an explosion of the aforementioned The Red Chord/Burnt by the Sun influences, sounding punishing yet inspiring. "Layover" is a short slaying track. The one-minute "Night Soil" is an impressive short achievement. In the incredible "Stolen Breath", There are precise changes in the tempo and rhythm.

One track "One Constant Volume" is a bit funny when it comes to the title and the Cookie Monster-esque death growls. Then we have the longest track of the album, the 5-minute highlight "Black Den", taking the brutal sludge of the first two Isis albums. After that is another 5-minute track, "Cables Hum Overhead". However, that's just a noise track that broke the flow from the previous song. I feel up to skipping that sh*t! "Citizen" has a bit of the progressive that Northlane would have later, to add to the deathly mathcore sound Premonitions of War is known for.

Showing a bit of the sludge of Mastodon at that time is "The Octopus" (interesting foreshadowing of Mastodon's "Octopus Has No Friends"). "Covered in Blood" has some slower experimentation while obviously not as experimental as Dog Fashion Disco. "Capsule Hotel" shows how much different a Revolution band can be compared to, say, Enter Shikari. And finally, we have the stoner-ish "Dim Light District".

I would find more enjoyment in Left in Kowloon if not for the band's the attempt to extend the album's short length with a noise track that lowers its f***ing memorability. Nonetheless, Premonitions of War had set up the greatness of the genre that was in the first two EPs, especially the first. Well done, PoW! Please come back soon.....

Favorites: "Mother Night Revisited", "Night Soil", "Stolen Breath", "Black Den", "Citizen", "Covered in Blood"