EUTK.net - july 2005
Second full-lenght for Mothercare, Italian band with a great passion for Japan, to the point that the lyrics include some parts in the Yamato language. The album shows, first and foremost, band’s large composition maturity. In their previous work (Breathing Instructions) Mothercare had a collaboration no less than with Mr. Mark “Barney” Greenway from Napalm Death, and this introduces us to one of the main themes of this Traumaturgic, the special guests: late lamented Mieszko Talarczyck’s vocals in “SenseSeedSex” and a guitar solo by Ephel Duath’s mastermind Davide Tiso, which makes precious the final “NQNL”.
But let’s get back to the start. The opener “Apnea” sets up Mothercare’s sound, precisely a breath-helding sound, which asphyxiates the listener, intense and enervating. High-speed metalcore, filled with sorrow, violent, claustrophobic, with powerful, sound, groovy rhythmic patterns. This is the whole record’s leitmotiv, taking impact as its own reason of existence. Further displaying this attitude, here comes the next track, “Learn To Die Slowly”, sort of a mincing machine with some excellent melodic moments, thanks to Guillermo Gonzales’ vocal dynamism. And so we come to the quoted “SenseSeedSex”, in which Mieszko offers a taste of the screamings that made him a legend with his own band Nasum: a definitely spectacular song in its speeding ups. “Traumaturgod” opens with invectives recited in Japanese, producing an absolutely psychotic outcome, supported by earthquaking rhythms, but then suddenly it turns into a relaxing and atmospheric moment, with a clean guitar solo, just before the earthquake starts again... “Days Of The Mangler” is a short industrial intro introducing us to “Kurokiroku” where the song’s mood is set by a drilling riff and by excellent percussions, moving through the track with convulse and frantic patterns. But the best is yet to come: it is concentrated in the final part of the album, starting with “Slow Shadows”, a really anguished song with abrasive vocals, full of grief and pain, a song that starts really menacing before exploding into a devastating sonic assault, with beats made of concrete that flirt with beautiful melodic oases, which furthermore underline the bursting potential of this track, definitely exceeding the safety limits. “Reverse Vortex” presents two new guest singers: Aneurysm’s Gianmaria Carneri and Silvia Penè: this is a slightly non-conventional song with its orientalizing vocals, as much strange as beautiful, also because the track dances on the thin thread of a tension always ready to explode, though it often implodes. The real surprise is the colossal Napalm Death’s “Breed To Breath” cover, outstanding indeed. Great job guys!
The record ends with “Nqnl”, in which Davide Tiso plays his solo. Here Mothercare’s massive and dry sound is infected by the germs of Ephel Duath’s liquid and schizoid postcore. The result is charming, offering us one of the best songs on the record, closing, as any self-respecting massacre, in a quiet ending, with calm and relaxing music, including Davide’s solo. Mothercare’s Traumaturgic surely places itself as one of the best Italian and international releases, and it deserves your unconditional support. So you will find out a band gifted with awesome technique and a powerful, corrosive, destabilizing sound.
What more do you need?
Luigi 'Gino' Schettino
http://eutk.net/rece.asp?id=3596

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Sonicbands.it
After their official debut Breathing Instructions (2003, distributed by EMI) has been well received by the audience and the press, our local Mothercare are back with their aggressive sound. Traumaturgic marks the band’s passing on Freecom label (in cooperation with Bunkker and RAI Trade) and Edel distribution. This new work continues the previous release’s path (Breathing Instructions included among the special guests a certain Mark Greenway from Napalm Death), that is a rocklike sound melting different styles inside a metal framework, plus death, thrash and grind intuitions building an unscratchable guitars wall. Vocals and rhythm section themselves stand on an international level, in no way inferior to any other band’s, possibly moving the nu-metal definition pointer towards this well-qualified quintet. The powerful sound hides sorrow inside the rhythmics, a sorrow ready to explode vocally with purely undermining effects on the listener.
Of course, Traumaturgic is not a record for any ear, but Mothercare’s compositive technique shows high stylistic ripeness and remarkable brainwaves, as in the opener "Apnea", or "Days Of The Mangler", or the wonderful "Slow Shadows" (my favorite track), the closing "Nqnl" and "Senseseedex", in which we have Nasum’s leader Mieszko Talarczyk as guest screamer (he tragically died in Thailand because of the tsunami). The record is dedicated to him.
A claustrophobic record that will satisfy all the metal headz out there: a music style finally introducing something new in the genre.
Fabio Igor Tosi
igor@sonicbands.it
http://www.sonicbands.it/articoli/album_ufficiali/?t=8


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Mothercare's full-lenght debut comes after the high regarded mini-cd "Fusoku no Kigen" (1999). The four piece defines its music as "paincore metal", namely a violent Nu-metal with deep roots in hardcore attitude: elaborated guitar riffing, highly syncopated and obsessive rhythmic framework, often spaced out by industrial breaks and on target tribal percussive carpets. The general feeling is distressing indeed. Though Mothercare's music is not basically original, recalling Korn and, sometimes, Machine Head ("Freedom Bondage"), what makes them interesting is the environment the songs give shape to, so claustrophobic and tormenting to create finally an almost physical sense of oppression. Here lie, maybe, the best value and the biggest limit of the band. Who does not like a musical and emotional approach of this kind could refuse them from the start, but who seeks for real emotions could listen to the album in a satisfying way indeed. "Breathing Instructions" features some special guests, among whom Barney Greenway from Napalm Death and Enrico Giannone from Undertakers/Ciaff; in any case, this work can't leave you cold.
METAL SHOCK N. 383 - May 2003 (fr)

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Mothercare are certainly inspired by the sick attitude typical of nu-metal prime movers Korn, but characterized by an extremely heavier and less ordinary sound. Listening to them, you will probably remember or the brutal and semi-futuristic Napalm Death of "Diatribes" either the first Fear Factory. Mothercare are brutal and disturbing, as their music was the perfect soundtrack to match with stop-motion mechanics of a Tsukamoto style Japanese horror movie, among metallic beats, aggressive guitars between Korn and Zeni Geva (downtuned as Korn's but fast, furious and ear-splitting as Zeni Geva's) and biomechanical synths, illegitimate sons of the hallucinating industrial contorsions of Tetsuo movie. The vocal performance of G.Gonzales is especially strong and trenchant and he is great in cross over English and Japanese screaming. Some special guests are hosted in the album: Mark "Barney" Greenway from Napalm Death, on the upsetting "Copy/Paste", Enrico Giannone from Undertakers on "Chissoku". The new generation o nu-metal or "simply" a superb aggressive metal record? A unique certainty is left: we are facing something corrosive and bewildering.
PSYCHO! - APRIL 2003 (Davide Iurlano)

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Paincore metal: a suggestive definition that well reflects Mothercare's sonic onslaught, excruciating and desperate. Mothercare play a hyper-violent metalcore which links up with Sepultura (for the tribal and nervous attitude) and with the mighty Godflesh (for the rusty, icy and noisy sounds). The choking voice pukes hate and disgust, taking just short melodic but neurotical breaks of Kornian school (frankly unnecessary); finally, the production is dry and essential, dirty, in order to emphasize even more the fierce anger which the songs express. Best track: the obsessive tribal mantra "Senbyoshi". To be pointed out, to guarantee Mothercare's sincerity, the presence as special guest of Barney Greenway from Napalm Death.
ROCKHARD - May 2003 (Niccolò Carli)

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Recently, the Italian underground metal scene is quite fertile and creative while new extrem musical shapes are being developed, combining metal guitar sound impact with hardcore attitude and industrial iceness. Mothercare devoted themselves to this genre with passion, succeeding in express all the anguish, paranoia and claustrophobia that these combined elements can breed. The result is devastating because the metal core blasting melts with a dry drumming, recalling Helmet. Vocals are desperate cries, as if they were the last gasping of a person who tries to escape from his mental cage. I'm not surprised at all Barney Greenway appeared in the album as a special guest. The consequential stunning effect is that of Napalm Death playing together with Fear Factory. There's nothing "pleasant" and commercial in this record, it is only "a vulgar display of power", like Pantera used to say some years ago. Records like this are an expression of the entrapping feeling of our times and of the willingness to scream against everything.
RUMORE - APRIL 2003 (Stefano Cerati)