Strange Rumours... Distant Tremors

These Deutsch Vikings, known as Kromlek are a hodgepodge of their various contemporaries in the genre. Their influences are very clear, and though it is a demerit, this band still holds potential.

The songs range from short and simple, to fairly epic. The most obvious influences, especially in the shorter songs, are Finntroll and probably Ensiferum. Amon Amarth is also an influence which I don't see in most Viking metal bands, but many riffs are pure Amon Amarth in the three Strandhagg tracks. The guitar tone is akin to Swedish death metal, the vocals are pretty standard growls and screams. Much of the instrumentation falls into the same category - pretty standard stuff.

Some noteworthy parts of this album include the rich atmosphere the keyboard can craft. The second part of Strandhagg starts with a rather ambient delay-ridden guitar then comes in with the wonderful atmospheric and dreamy keyboard part. In my opinion, this should not even fade into metal. It should have solely been an ambient track, but the metal comes in and it ruins the feel. The rest of these three tracks are unremarkable, again, a lot of Amon Amarth riffage. Hardly even passable.

Folkthing is a standout track, which reeks of "forest" atmosphere. The flute-esque thing and the upbeat polka feel make it really special. The end part reminds me of Turisas, but I think this song is the sound this band should really go for and make their own. There is too much borrowing going on within this album. I'm reluctant to call it generic, so let's just say the transparent influences are unimpressive.

That's not to say this album is without it's merits. Folkthing and Nar Tiden Vissar are really catchy and attention getting. Svart Metall is short, fun, polka metal in the Finntroll vein. Herjan is good clean Viking metal fun.

They show some potential. This is a good album, but far too unrefined. The band has yet to establish their own sound, and it causes major fractures in what holds the songs up. Such things as having an awesome ambient part being marred by a bland Amon Amarth type riff is a very silly way to hold an album down.

Well it’s been two years since KromleK’s previous hard hitting album “Kveldridhur”. Well, they’re back with this masterpiece known as “Strange Rumors…Distant Tremors”. I myself consider KromleK the masters of the genre, and by the genre I mean trollish humppa folk metal. It overshadows anything Finntroll and TrollfesT have ever done.

Well, when you first hear the intro “Valtivar - Stigtivar”, it starts off with some soothing flutes, and bursts right into an epic ensemble. A few of the stand out tracks are “Herjan” with it’s powerful instrument presence. “Grim Omens” is actually a mix of a few songs off the “Kveldridhur” album with some vocals thrown in, which I thought was sheer brilliance. .

Another thing that KromleK did on this album that they didn’t do on the last album was include female vocals. I know there’s a lot of bands out there that try to throw female vocals in their music to give it more feeling, but most just fail miserably. KromleK on the other hand did it very subtly, and came through shining.

The atmosphere on this album is fantastic, it really gives me that Viking/Trollish vibe I’m looking for, especially on tracks like “Strandhagg Pt.2” with the low-tuned guitars. Another factor that adds to the terrific atmosphere is the top notch production. It’s definitely worthy of praise, and overshadows the last album’s production.

One thing that was a fairly obvious stand-out on this album is the fact that it’s longer than their previous album. This may sound like a bad thing, because one may think it’s mostly filler. Well, this is not the case. There is almost absolutely no filler, aside from “Strandhagg Pt.1” which was on their last album, although possibly re-recorded, it’s still a great song.

Overall, I give this album a 99. Not because I’m praising one of my favorite bands, but because this album is definitely worthy of such a high score. So if you’re looking for some great trollish humppa folk metal, somewhat comparable to Finntroll and TrollfesT. KromleK’s “Strange Rumors…Distant Tremors” is the way to go.