Label - Wise Blood Records
Release Date - 6th August 2021
One look at the cover of the new Krigsgrav album ‘The Sundering’ should give you a fairly good idea of what is in store for you on their latest release. The near indecipherable band logo and the bleak grey skies towering over a city scape, one would assume it’s going to be a fairly dark & aggressive record.
Although black metal is the foundation of the band, they don’t pigeonhole themselves into this genre. Taking on numerous influences from the metal world this album would serve as a perfect entrée for people who are looking at places to start their black metal journey. Sure, it has everything to please people who love their metal like their coffee, but there are tracks on here that give room to breathe also, using a more melodic, spacious doom approach on some songs. Noticeably the guitar leads, and solos add a more melodic tinge to the proceedings.
At 49 minutes in length and spanning 9 tracks, the album starts with a 30 second intro of splattering rain and church bells to set the mood. ‘The Sun No Longer Reaches Here’ has tinges to early Immortal, the riffs are heavy and backed up by a strong rhythm section. Every instrument is well balanced in the mix unlike a lot of BM albums. Vocally, Justin Coleman leads from the front, growling and snarling out the lyrics with such anger. Not surprising given that the whole world has been in lockdown in what seems like forever, and no way in channelling this aggression.
‘Timberline’ is certainly one of the most expansive on the album using mellow guitar passages to lull you in to a false sense of security before dropping back into a chasm of stomping riffs.
Album highlight ‘Absence’ starts with a classic Opeth style Morningrise era acoustic passage that carries into the heavier passage of the song. The drums are absolutely monstrous, they explode in your face like opening an oven set to 250 degrees, the blast beats and double bass sound huge. The riffs on here are also incredibly hooky, not something you associate with BM, but again shows the scope of the album.
‘This album is based around the dread of a natural event occurring and having no control’ vocalist Justin Coleman declares. And seeing as we are 18 months into a pandemic with a slight glimmer of light on the horizon, the album is certainly relatable.
Krigsgrav have created an album that will take listeners on a heavy and melodic journey. Each track has its own identity and will certainly please many fans in the metal world, not just the blackened end of the spectrum.
8/10
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