Blimey it was way back in 2008 and ‘Southern Storm’ when I last reviewed a Krisiun album. It was the mid-era of the Brazilian trio I guess my interest really peeked even giving them an album of the year accolade at one point. The last few releases didn’t really do it, although to be fair I probably didn’t give them the listens and attention they duly deserved. Perhaps it’s time to go back and re-evaluate as studio-album number 12 is frankly a bit of a beast and has certainly renewed my past appreciation.
You kind of know exactly what you are going to get from the bros from Brazil. It’s going to be an intense and well-co-ordinated attack, one that’s honed of fat and full of dazzling fretboard displays, pummelling drumming and hoary, commanding vocals. Indeed, the first 3 tracks ‘Sworn Enemies,’ ‘Serpent Messiah’ and ‘Swords Into Flesh’ deliver all these factors in spades as well as some alliteration, which like the brothers themselves has them bonded in blood, a clinical and engrossing tour-de-force. There’s no let-up in the winding, cyclic riffs and decimating old school deathliness of this attack and it really does feel like you have been caught up in a whirlwind. Some may find the resolute determination of this triple pronged attack lacking in any real deviation but if one fixates upon the fluidity and precision within its folds, it’s pretty damn impressive and delivered at a jaw-dropping ferocity.
Opening a ‘Necronomical’ text sees the barrage finally let-up momentarily with a slower pound from the drums, twanging bass lines and chugging guitar work. It’s looser than the previous multi layered density providing a bit of breathing space before it builds into tangled flesh-flaying guitar weaves stripping the skin from the bones. There’s also a short mid-point instrumental ‘Dawn Sun Carnage’ providing plenty of atmosphere. Sure, some may think it breaks up the overall intensity but it works very well for me with big booming percussion and ethnic sounding string parts. It’s like the intro to a gladiatorial battle in some ways, especially when taken in context with the cover art and sets up the second half of the album perfectly. As for that, opening with a track entitled ‘Temple of the Abattoir’ you know that you are up for more in the way of blood-soaked carnage. Before you can say ‘for those about to die, we salute you” bodies litter the arena and from here to the end (which includes an extra track on my download), no prisoners are taken in the slightest.
Perhaps there is a danger with Krisiun of just taking them for granted, letting the power and vehemence wash over you in a giddy and stupefying way. This is not an album to put on in the background whilst engaging in other tasks and getting distracted. It needs volume and concentration, then to the victor will come the spoils! A solid, decimating album, make no mistake.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply