Redikin – The Crux

Redikin
The Crux
Label: Wormholedeath
Out: May 30^th, 2025
Playing time: 41:34

REDIKIN is a heavy rock band from The Netherlands, known for their groove-based sound and high-energy performances

Well, I hadn’t heard of the band before. But that’s hardly surprising given the large breadth of the Dutch Rock and Metal scene. And it’s still a young band, probably founded in spring 2022. The press release also states that the band consists of experienced musicians who have already performed all over Europe. With which bands? The press release also lacks any information on this! What is known is that the debut EP ‘Am I Really’ was released in 2023. The currently advertised first album ‘The Crux’ was released one year later, probably independently. This obviously brought the band to the attention of Wormholedeath. A record deal was signed this year.

Pounding riffs and keyboard sounds introduce ‘Monkey Business’. Singer Afke van Althuis has a powerful voice with recognition potential. Later on, she also delivers hectic spoken vocals. A somewhat unwieldy introduction to the album. ‘Nemesis’ starts with synthesiser gimmicks. Deep, slightly distorted guitars are added. Afke retains her groovy and sometimes hectic-sounding vocal style. Fortunately, the keys are not as much in the foreground here as before, but are still always present. ‘I Remember’ is a rhythmic song. The keyboards discreetly set the pace. The singer switches to a slightly higher vocal range. In ‘Hungry’, the Dutch go faster, harder and rockier. The keyboard tapestries are omnipresent. And the synth staccato is a little annoying. Hard riffs initially dominate ‘Nailed It’. Shortly afterwards, hard drums kick in, but also keyboard tapestries again. The riffs sound a little hectic in places. The instrumentation is toned down a little on the vocals, allowing the expressive vocals to come into their own. With ‘You’, you initially think you’re listening to a ballad for a few seconds. When the hard rhythm section kicks in, however, you are proved wrong. Once again, Afke’s powerful voice is almost watered down by keyboards, sometimes again in staccato. Deep guitar riffs introduce ‘The Dirty Job’, supported by powerful drums. The dark-sounding vocals are pleasant to listen to. Sometimes the tones are just squeezed out of the vocal chords. After the calm introductory clear guitar sounds, ‘Neon Lights’ also incorporates a lot of groove into the sound. The singer’s once again darker timbre matches this. At the beginning of ‘Am I Really’, the synths get on my nerves a little. But the riffs that kick in later make up for it somewhat. Calm vocals and no less calmly plucked guitars loosen up the sound a little, alternating with powerful riffs.

For me, ‘The Crux’ lives up to its name. It is very difficult to rate this album. There is a lot of light but unfortunately also a lot of shade. The individual songs are varied. Most of them are also very powerfully recorded. The expressive and variable voice of singer Afke van Althuis is impressive. This definitely gives Redikin a unique selling point. But for my taste, the keyboard tapestries are often too much in the foreground. And I find the synths with their staccatos annoying at times. But that’s a matter of taste, of course. The fans and, above all, the musicians will certainly have a different opinion to mine.

Redikin – Nailed It: https://youtu.be/W5gpRr2ANv4?si=ME1BuMD6uwtiBrg0

Lineup:

Afke van Althuis – Vocals
David de Waal – Guitar
Saro Pulvirenti – Bass Guitar
Leslie Harberts – Keyboards
Haico van Attikum – Drums

Track list:

• Monkey Business
• Nemesis
• I Remember
• Hungry
• Nailed It
• You
• The Dirty Job
• Neon Lights
• Am I Really