Coming from ‘Utrecht and beyond’, the Dutch band Liar Liar Cross on Fire calls itself black metal/ hardcore/ ambient. Why stop there, one should ask? There’s way more room to concentrate on even more genres! Impossible? Certainly not, proven by Exposed, Barren and Windswept.

Exposed, Barren and Windswept is over before you blink your eyes! Not because it’s necessarily that good, we will get to that part later, but mostly because the tracks seem to be cohesive, yet completely different from one another. You do find some hardcore, some ambient and some black on this album, and even some screamo and death influences. Liar Liar Cross on Fire opens with their best song, if you ask me, since the multiple genres this band is influenced by becomes evident during Cloak and Dagger Routine. Some nice riffs are to be heard, when you try really hard, and thumbs up for the variety in drums. My personal favourite must be The Kraken though, but that’s just me being a sucker for ambient sounds with addictive melodies.

So, you must think, a good album hm? Yeah, it would have been if these guys had saved up some money. Some money to prevent letting the production of this piece turn into such a turn off. It definitely took me some motivational inner monologues to persuade myself to listen to the album fully after turning it off various times after my first attempts. Then again, I’m a spoiled brad who likes her music to be polished like gold, so I guess it’s all a matter of taste. On top of that, I can’t help but tasting a sense of irony during Exposed, Barren and Windswept. The bad production may well be explained by the intention Liar Liar Cross on Fire has with releasing a record that sounds like it was recorded in some crappy basement. They wouldn’t be the first, for sure!