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Krater > Das Relikt des Triumphes > Reviews
Krater - Das Relikt des Triumphes

Great Pagan black metal - 88%

BloodIronBeer, March 10th, 2008

Being in serious need of some new black metal, I endeavored to find some releases on Christhunt productions. For the simple fact that I'd found everything I'd heard on that label to be to my liking. I soon found out the roster of the label is considerably large, and this is the first band I happened upon - and this is a great start indeed! This band exhibits all the things I look for in a black metal band - which I rarely find.

There are a number of things that struck me right away about this release. First, the production is perfect. This production displays the rare quality of being gritty and nasty but still lets all the instrumentation come through. Not to mention it packs a punch, which these types of recordings are prone to missing.

Next, musicianship. These guys can actually play. I'm not left listening to the same drum beat for 4 minutes at a time. There are a couple time signature changes, and a good amount of stand-alone bass lines. Some parts are even somewhat complex, with riffs and drum parts galore. And, another refreshing thing I noticed is a nice variety. There are a couple sick thrash riffs, a few almost traditional sounding riffs and some tendencies of Viking metal here and there. None of these seem to interrupt the feel of the music, taking these qualities and melding them into the black metal onslaught seamlessly.

I find it hard to make an earnest complaint about this album. It's harrowing and potent. It walks a fine line between melody and rawness. And most unexpectedly - the workings of the musicianship and interesting palette, which helps to hold my interest above a lot of other black metal the world is cluttered with. The best black metal band I've found in a long while.



{Originally written for www.metalcrypt.com}