REVIEW: Kaonashi – The 3 Faces of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation of Morgan Montgomery (EP/2024)

Artist: Kaonashi
Album: The 3 Faces of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation of Morgan Montgomery – EP

Welcome back to Lemon House! It’s been a while, but with anxiety, excitement and maybe just a touch of dread, once more we push open the doors and take a step back in time to everyone’s favorite era of self-discovery and self-loathing: high school. If you’re just now tuning in, that’s okay—though there is quite a bit of homework for you to do—however I’ll try to summarize. Forming now over a decade ago, emotional mathcore act Kaonashi have becoming the reigning champions of the concept album, forming not just one release, but rather a whole slew of releases around a set of characters set in a high school somewhere in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The topics? Ranging from everything to newfound love, loss, personal identity, the throes and adversities of stereotypes, a particularly infamous high school counselor…you get it. It’s high school, all over again—and if there is one band that can bring back the tumultuous, churning sea of emotions that dominated the most angst-laden and hormone-fueled time in anyone’s life, it’s Kaonashi. On The 3 Faces of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation of Morgan Montgomery (referenced further as The 3 Faces of Beauty), Kaonashi have formally penned their love letter to the moshers, dancers and all around hardbodies. Composed of five ultra-aggressive, scathingly abrasive cuts, The 3 Faces of Beauty is a character study of Lemon House’s resident antagonist (if such a word can really be used), Morgan Montgomery—and without spoiling the story, the release takes us on a journey of pain and growth that is not only a testament to beautiful writing and character development, but can also be applied to so many people across the world who may be going through the same journey with those same adversities. In brief, no one in the underground does it like Kaonashi, and The 3 Faces of Beauty is just another chilling, jaw-dropping reminder of that.

For over a decade, Kaonashi have been among the most instrumentally excellent bands of contemporary metalcore, mathcore or whatever bubble one chooses to place them in. The 3 Faces of Beauty is perhaps the single darkest and heaviest collection of work we’ve gotten from the east coast outfit since their debut, Native (if not moreso). On The 3 Faces of Beauty, every song is dominated by a thick undercurrent of anxiety that bleeds from the vocals and becomes pervasive throughout every instrumental element on the complex, labyrinthine EP. Songs like “Humiliation Ritual” demonstrate a gradual decay into dissonant frenzy, with a twisting, turning riff slowly melting into a dense, crushing onslaught of frenzied chugs. Then, there are cuts like “I Hate the Sound of Car Keys” and “Sarah & the Scraped Knee” where percussionist Ryan Paolilli reigns supreme—both in portions where he actively shows off (“I Hate the Sound of Car Keys”) and where he provides a stellar foundation for his bandmates (“Sarah & the Scraped Knee”). Perhaps the single most comprehensive examples of Kaonashi’s instrumental prowess, however, present themselves on “We Got One” and “Exit Pt. V.” “We Got One” is a thoroughly oppressive cut, featuring breakdown after breakdown woven together by jarring, spastic riffs penned by guitarists Alex Hallquist and Sydney Williams. Hallquist and Williams shine on these songs especially—which is notable considering they shine everywhere else too, and that so many of the riffs that run rampant on the record was written on-the-spot. Bassist August Axcelson adds extra heft to “We Got One,” even where one could argue the song was already hefty enough, and the bounce and candor he adds to the uplifting, melodic segment of “Exit Pt. V” is stunning—even though it serves as the only truly uplifting moment on the entire EP. Through their collective efforts—be it Paolilli’s percussion, Hallquist and Williams’ fretwork and Axcelson’s grooves—The 3 Faces of Beauty is Kaonashi at their most aggressive and frantic, but also quite possibly at their best.

I typically lead the discussion of Kaonashi’s vocal effort with a “warning” of the vocals themselves being polarizing. This isn’t wrong—they are—but I’m going to double down and state that while they are polarizing, if you don’t like them you not only don’t get it, but you’re wrong. Frontman Peter Reno stands as the lion’s share of what makes Kaonashi such a unique band, but also the biggest contributing factor to the intricacies of the band’s story, concept, and message for the listeners. The 3 Faces of Beauty plunges the listener into the skin of Morgan Montgomery—a black high school student struggling with bullies, violence, identity crises and the strain that places on an already dysfunctional family. Without giving away the story of Morgan Montgomery, their journey on The 3 Faces of Beauty forces the listener—regardless of their ethnicity, social status or level of cultural awareness—to understand a different and often overlooked perspective of what it’s like to grow up as a black male—and that experience would not be nearly as poignant if it weren’t delivered in a way that only Rono can. Shrill screams play a brisk tug-of-war with hoarse shouts and scant spoken-word sentences that dance and skip atop stunning two-step patterns and pulverizing breakdowns both. Rono’s delivery—especially on “We Got One” and “Exit Pt. V” is nothing short of stunning, with the mid-song breakdown on the former song being one of the most memorable moments of music Kaonashi have delivered to us—yet. While Rono’s voice and delivery is certainly unique, it perfectly fits the turbulent, anxious themes with underpinnings of violence and strife that define the content on The 3 Faces of Beauty—and it may just be an exposure bias, but any other delivery method would feel infinitely less sincere.

The 3 Faces of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation of Morgan Montgomery is a magnificent release by one of the most creative, energetic and determined bands in heavy music’s blossoming underground. Kaonashi demonstrate that while Dear Lemon House was a more melodic—or at the very least, less heavy—foray into the world of Jamie B. Moore et al, they absolutely are still capable of kicking the ever-living shit out of the listener. Defined by raunchy breakdowns, chaotic instrumentation and a vocal-meets-lyrical experience that only Rono can provide, The 3 Faces of Beauty is a very early—but very strong—contender for 2024’s strongest EP.

10/10
For Fans Of: S’abella, Float Omen, Mugshot, Hail the Sun, HeavyHeavyLowLow
By: Connor Welsh