Ektomorf had enormous potential but ended up playing it much safer than they needed to. The original idea for the band -- metal combined with Hungarian gypsy music -- had endless possibilities, but all too often,
Ektomorf have been content to merely emulate
Sepultura (the band that singer
Max Cavalera was once a part of) or
Soulfly (the band that
Cavalera founded in 1997 after leaving
Sepultura). That said,
What Doesn't Kill Me is a competent outing despite its obvious lack of originality. Those who have accused
Ektomorf of sounding way too much like
Soulfly and
Sepultura for their own good won't change their mind after hearing angry, angst-ridden tracks like
"I Can See You," "Rat War," "Sick of It All," and
"Nothing Left";
Ektomorf's writing still has a strong
Soulfly/
Sepultura flavor, and lead singer
Zoltan Farkas continues to emulate
Cavalera's vocal style. There are a few minor influences as well -- a little
Slipknot here, a little
Sevendust there -- but
What Doesn't Kill Me nonetheless ends up sounding like a
Soulfly/
Sepultura tribute album that just happens to contain original material instead of covers. So this 2009 release definitely isn't the place to go in search of experimentation. But many of the tunes are catchy enough (
What Doesn't Kill Me isn't without hooks) even though they are not in a class with
Soulful or
Sepultura's best work. It would be great to hear
Ektomorf seriously revive and develop the "Hungarian gypsy metal" idea they had in the beginning, but that is unlikely to happen -- and while this very predictable CD has its moments, one wishes that
Ektomorf would take some chances instead of being content to merely sound like a cross between a poor man's
Soulfly and a poor man's
Sepultura. ~ Alex Henderson
